Shellcell
by 1234BlueLagoon
Summary: With Bishop after the Turtles, they all separate and Donatello finds himself alone. That is, until he gets a call from Raphael directing him to safety. But there is something strange about the phone call...
1. Donatello Alone

_A/N: Constructive criticism is always welcome!_

CHAPTER ONE

"Come on guys, we have to hurry!" Donatello whispered, "The power grid is just up ahead."

"I can't believe you talked us into this Donnie," Mikey groaned, holding fast to the ceiling.

"It's bad enough that we snuck in here," said Leonardo, hidden somewhere so well that none of his brothers were quite sure where he was, "But did it have to be Bishop's headquarters?"

"Taking out his power grid is the only way to stop him from finding our lair," Donnie argued, "He's been trying to tap into our wireless frequency!"

"Let's just get in and get this over with," said Raphael, his form slightly visible in the shadows. He wasn't trying very hard to meld into the wall like Leo.

"Alright, here we go," said Donnie.

He took a deep breath, and place one foot on the tiled floor. Instantly an alarm blared.

"Great. _Just _great," said Raph.

"Mission aborted," said Leonardo, "Let's get out of here!"

"All right, all right!" said Donnie, "Mikey, open the vents, quickly!"

"You got it, bro!" said Mikey, retracing his steps to open their exit.

"Hurry it up already," said Raphael, "We don't got all day!"

With Mikey and Donnie in the lead and Leonardo bringing up the rear, the four turtles raced down the hallway towards the vents, mindful that Bishop's men would be after them within seconds.

"Change of plans. We need to split up," Leo ordered, "Don and Mikey, you take the vents. Raph and I will lead them on a wild goose chase down the hallway. We'll catch up to you later."

"Right," Mikey said, opening the vent grate, "Hurry up, Don! Slowpoke."

"You're the slowpoke, slowpoke." Don argued.

"Guys, be quiet, will ya?" Raph said, annoyed, "Now get going, Donnie!"

Donnie followed his brother into the vents, and Raph replaced the vent cover before running down the hallway with Leo. The two turtles in the vents began to crawl forward as quietly as possible.

"Hurry up, Don!" Mikey whispered, in the lead.

"You hurry," Don whispered back, "I'm staring at your feet here! And they smell!"

Suddenly Mikey stopped.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

Silence.

Then a small rolling sound.

"Shell!" Don said. Mikey didn't even have to ask, he knew it had to be _something _bad.

The two of them crawled forward as fast as they dared, the rolling sound getting slightly louder.

"The vent splits just ahead," Mikey said, "I'll go right, you take left. We'll meet outside."

"Got it," Don said. He proceeded to watch his brother shuffle off into the right tunnel, and he found himself finally able to see the vent in front of him. Wow, was it dusty. And full of cobwebs.

He grimaced, but continued forward. The rolling sound was still behind him, but it seemed to get just a little fainter. That might be a good thing. Then again, he hoped it wasn't following Mikey.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the vent tunnel had led to the outside shaft where they had entered the building not too long ago. He must have taken the original route by accident, completely backtracking without realizing it.

Donnie stood outside the building in the alleyway, panting. He needed to get away. But where were his brothers? Where they out yet? He cautiously made his way around the alley and over the next building. He wasn't going to enter the sewers so close to Bishop's headquarters, where he could most easily be tracked.

He finally made it to the safe-haven building, the one they had designated as their meeting place should they become separated. It was an abandoned apartment building, and they usually met on the roof.

There was no one there.

Hm. Maybe he was just early, and the others were on their way. And if they knew they were being followed, they would have to lead Bishop off their tail before coming to the building. Come to think of it, it could take them as long as two point five hours to get Bishop off their trail…

His shellcell rang, startling him about a half-foot off the ground. One look at the ID confirmed that it was Raph, so without a thought Donatello whipped it open and began speaking.

"Raph!" he said, "You're alright! I was getting worried. I got separated from Mikey, and-"

_"Don! Good, I made it through! Listen, bro, this is very important,"_ Raphael interrupted over the phone, "_You gotta take five steps to the left."_

"I-what?" Don stammered, "Raph, where are you?"

_"Just do it, Donnie!" _Raph commanded, and with the roughness that usually accompanied Raphael's calls, the line went dead.

"That was odd, even for Raph," said Donnie. Was Raph watching him? If so, why didn't he meet him on the roof? And why command him to take five steps, to the left?

Although confused, Donnie nonetheless took five steps to the left. His brother could have been telling him that he was exposed to Bishop, and had simply _meant _to tell him to step to the left. And because Raph was sometimes known for exaggeration, he could have added the 'five steps' just because it sounded cool.

Donnie tapped his foot. Where _were_ his brothers? And why didn't Raph come reach him? He thought of calling them one by one on the shellcell, but chances were high that they were busy. Maybe he should meet them back at the lair instead…hey, what was that sound?

Something large and mechanical sailed out of the corner of his eye, and landed with a large crash on the spot he had previously been standing. With a surprised jump, Donnie landed on his shell several feet away, dangerously near the precipice of the building.

It was a very large piece of junk, glass, shrapnel and metal all woven together into a ball. On a second look, it was merely a badly mangled vehicle. A vehicle which had somehow managed to be thrown all the way to the top of the building.

Donnie carefully slid over to the side of the building, and risked glancing over the short wall. What he saw made his heart stop.

Army vehicles and soldiers lined the road. But what caught his eye was one person, a very angry person who was glaring at everyone present. Bishop.

Of course! With the new exosuit Bishop had been planning to build-Don had seen the schematics-the man could _easily _throw a vehicle to the roof of a building. It all made sense now. The man was probably mad that he and his brothers had once again escaped his clutches!

Wait. Did Bishop know he was up there on the roof? No, it didn't _look _like it, judging by the way Bishop was acting. But then, he probably _was _busy looking for Turtle.

Hm, _had_ his brothers make it out? Raph did, and he was probably with Leo. Then again, Raph couldn't be with Leo; he wouldn't have called to warn him about the car if Leo had been with him because Leo would have called instead. And how could Raph have known where the car would land, anyway?

His shellcell rang again. He answered without looking at the ID.

_"Donnie, listen, ya gotta get outta there,"_ Raph said.

"I think I already know that, Raph," Don said, slightly rolling his eyes, "But I think I'm going to lay low for a while. Where are you? And where's Leo?"

_"Donnie,"_ said Raph seriously, _"You have to get off that roof within the next ten minutes. Because if you don't, something bad will happen. Very bad."_

"What?" Donnie asked, "What's going on? Where are you?"

_"Bishop is after you, on your trail,"_ Raph said, _"Don't take the Battleshell, he's got men watching it in the alley. And don't go back to the lair, either. It ain't safe in the sewers."_

"Alright," said Don, his mind processing information, "Can I come to you?"

There was a small silence on the other end of the phone before Raph began speaking again.

_"Unlock the roof door of the building you're on and go to the third floor,"_ he finally said, _"Jump from the west window of the second apartment on the right, and land in the open window of the building next door. Hurry."_

Donatello nodded, even though his brother couldn't see it, and hung up the phone. It wasn't like Raph to give such detailed instructions, but that meant that he had probably already come to the roof and left the same way. He was most likely waiting in the other building, out of sight of Bishop's men.

Donnie moved over to the roof door and used one of his tools to unlock it. It opened with a squeak, and he reminded himself to keep it as quiet as possible.

Wait. If Raph had already come this way, why would the door _still _be locked? This was an abandoned building; it wasn't like someone would come along and lock the door again.

Donnie slid into the stairwell and closed the door behind him. He carefully made his way down the stairs until he made it to the third floor, and then easily exited the hallway and went into the bedroom where he found the window Raph had mentioned. He opened it with a little trouble; the thing hadn't been opened in years, and easily jumped from it into the next building, where he instinctively closed the window behind him.

This next building was dark.

"Raph?" he whispered.

He bumped against something at waist level, and after a little fumbling his fingers found a light switch. He turned it on.

There was no one in the room, but the place was obviously a children's bedroom.

"Raphael?" Donnie whispered quietly, hoping that the family who lived in this house hadn't heard all the racket he had made.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion, and Don found himself knocked to the floor at the same time that the power went out. The rumbling continued, but for far too long. Initially he thought it was an earthquake, but that didn't seem possible given the circumstances.

Dust and debris seemed to fly around the window that he had just closed. The room took on dusty, swirling shadows as the full moon shined down through the window.

Don jumped to his feet. On the other side of the window was the building he had just jumped from. There could be no moon in the window, it was impossible!

He moved to the window, and gasped. The entire building was gone, demolished, all in one instant.

But who would demolish a building at night? Who had the means, and the motive?

Donatello's eyes narrowed. Bishop. He must had known Donnie was on the roof all along! Why else would he demolish the building?

Donnie's shellcell rang again, the faint glow only slightly adding to the luminosity of the room. Since the power had gone out-doubtless caused by the demolished building next door-the full moon had given the room a very bright atmosphere, which the room seemed to welcome almost happily.

The caller ID read one name: _Raphael._

How had his brother known the building would collapse? How had he been able to give him such precise directions to safety? What the shell was going on?

The ringtone went off again.

Should he answer?


	2. Lockdown

_Hello there! Thank you guys so much for the reviews, follows and favs so far! Here is the second chapter. Once again, constructive criticism is always welcome!_

CHAPTER TWO

The phone rang once again, and Donatello shook his thoughts from his head. This was his _brother _calling. He had saved him twice from death-although, come to think of it, how Raph had known about those events still seemed impossible.

Donnie flipped open the phone to answer it.

_"Geez, give me a heart attack, will ya Donnie!"_ said Raph on the other end, _"Thought I lost you there for a second."_

"I'm fine," said Donnie, "Where are you?"

_"Sorry I can't welcome ya there, bro, but we need to keep moving_," said Raph, _"Bishop won't be fooled for long."_

"Right," said Don, "Listen, how'd you know about the car and the building?"

_"That isn't important right now,"_ said Raph, _"You need to get outta the city without leaving any trail. You're going tuh have to take the bus."_

"Wait, bus?" said Donnie, "The kind with people on it? That doesn't seem very safe."

_"You're thinking of the wrong bus, Donnie," _said Raph with a smile in his voice, _"Trust me on this."_

"Alright," said Donnie, "But Raph, where's Leo?"

There was a small silence on the other end of the phone, before Raph reluctantly answered.

_"They got him,"_ he said.

Donnie's world suddenly tilted, and he found himself sitting on the floor.

"Bishop?" he asked.

_"Yeah,"_ said Raph sadly.

"Then we need to go in after him," Donnie's will hardened.

_"No! Not yet,"_ said Raph.

Donnie paused in mid-motion as he was reaching for the window.

"What?" he asked. This wasn't like his brother at all.

_"As much as I want to go in after him too, it ain't time,"_ said Raph, _"Bishop has started a giant manhunt for ya. He wants to complete the set. We can get them out, but we have to get away from Bishop first." _

"Okay, okay," said Donnie, letting his intellect take control over him instead of his emotions, "Wait. Did you just say _them_?"

_"Yeah,"_ said Raph, sounding really sad, _"Bishop got Mikey too."_

"No," said Donnie unbelievingly. If they caught Leo that was one thing. But if they caught Mikey…the very image of his happy-go-lucky, ridiculous younger brother in a prison was enough to break his heart.

_"Donnie,"_ Raph commanded, _"Donatello!"_

"Huh, what?" Don came out of his reverie.

_"Escape?"_ said Raph, _"Listen. If you leave the building and exit by the front door on my signal, you can just miss Bishop's squad that's searching for ya. Then head to the old elementary school. They're taking some of their buses out tonight for inspection. Just take one of 'em and drive it behind the others until you're out of the city. You got that?"_

"Uh, front door, avoid squad, old elementary, bus. Got it," said Donnie, "Where do I meet up with you?"

_"I'll call you when it's safe,"_ said Raphael, _"Good luck bro."_

As soon as he tucked away the shellcell safely into his belt, Donnie moved quietly out of the room and out of the apartment. He probably didn't need to be so quiet; as the demolition of the next building proved, no one was in the house. Bishop probably had enough time to evacuate the civilians before demolishing the building-probably citing structural failure as an imminent problem, then the building mysteriously proved his words by falling, blah blah blah.

Donnie made his way to the front door and cautiously opened it, and when the coast was clear he ran across the street. With the full moon shining he had to use every stealth method he knew to keep in the shadows. He slowly but surely made his way to the old elementary school, snuck into one of the buses and hotwired it since he didn't have the keys. Everything was just as Raph had said.

Funny, he never thought that Raph would be the one to do the research that came with reconnaissance.

Donnie slowly followed a trail of other buses in the school parking lot, and to his immense satisfaction, some other buses began to follow him. That meant that he was no longer the last bus in the line.

All the buses slowly made their way out of the city.

His shellcell rang, and he answered it.

"Hey Raph, nearly to the bridge," he said, steering with one hand and talking into the phone with the other.

_"Unpleasant surprise, coming up," _said his brother, _"Bishop must have used some lame excuse to convince the city to close up. They're checking the buses as they leave the city, so hide your staff somewhere safe. Or you could just chuck it out the window, but knowing you that ain't an option."_

"Shell," said Donnie, "How badly does Bishop want to find us anyway?"

_"Like I said, he wants the full set of Ninja Turtles," _Raph contributed, _"Just hide your staff, okay?"_

"Okay, okay," said Donnie, looking at his bo staff as he hung up the shellcell. How was he going to hide a _staff_?

A smile came over his face. He would hide it in plain sight.

The line to the bridge took forever, and Donnie knew that it was because they were checking each and every bus before they allowed them on the bridge. That gave him plenty of time to 'decorate' his staff and find an extra outfit on the bus to disguise himself in. Finally, it was his turn. He opened up the door, and two policemen entered.

"Alright," said one, "There's been an escaped fugitive, and we think he's going to try to get out of the city. We're going to search your bus from top to bottom, 'kay?"

Don only nodded, trying to keep his head down and his face out of sight.

"Great," said the policemen, "John, you take the outside and I'll take the inside. Don't forget to check under the bus as well as on the roof."

"Got it," the second policeman said.

The first, meanwhile, stayed inside and walked up and down the entire length of the bus, checking under every seat. It didn't take him too long.

"Inside is clear," the policeman said to the driver, "Sorry for the inconvenience, but you'll probably be on your way shortly. We just have to finish checking the outside."

Donnie nodded.

"Hey, what's this? A weapon?" the policeman asked, picking up Donnie's staff.

"I'm old, sonny," Donnie said, faking an elderly voice, "Hard time walking these days."

"A cane, huh?" said the policeman, "Kinda long, but maybe that's the point."

Donnie nodded, careful to hide his face.

"You know," said the policeman, careful not to wrinkle the brown paper Donnie had hurriedly placed over the staff, "My great uncle had one just like this, back when he lived in Austria. Would use it to climb mountains."

The policeman smiled as he thought of pleasant memories, then carefully set the staff down.

"I'll go check on John's progress," he said, "But you should be ready to go, mister. They're going to shut down the city to look for this convict fellow, but I'll make sure that your bus gets across before that happens."

Donnie mumbled a small "thank you, son."

With a smile, the policeman exited the bus and called his partner over. Within seconds he gestured to Donnie to head over the bridge.

Don pressed the accelerator and slowly drove forward. Tires soon hit bridge, and then began the long route over. The bridge was eerily empty, with only the backlights of the bus in front of him, a bus which by now was _very _far away.

The bus behind him began honking fervently and fluently, so he turned his eyes to look in the rear-view mirror. The driver behind him was yelling at the policemen, because they were placing a make-shift barrier to prevent anyone else from leaving the city.

Donatello had made it over just in time.

He answered his shellcell almost before it began to ring.

_"Shell, Donnie, how do you _do _that?" _Raph asked, _"It's like you're psychic or somethin'!"_

"Years of practice," Donnie smiled, "I'm on the bridge, heading over. Barely made it out of the city, they closed the bridge behind me. What now?"

_"Good work, Donnie."_ said Raph, _"As soon as you can, ditch the bus._ _There's an abandoned trailer somewhere on the road, should have enough gas to get you to Casey's grandma's place. Bishop doesn't know about that, so it should be safe."_

"Is that where I'll meet you?" Donnie asked.

_"Not exactly," _said Raph.

"What do you mean, 'not exactly'?" Don asked.

_"Um, Donnie, does that bus have a radio?"_

"Yeah, what of it?"

_"Turn it on,"_ said Raph.

Donatello turned on the radio, and news floated through the schoolbus as he continued to drive down the road.

"…And what do the people think of this mandatory shutdown, Mister Mayor?" a reporter asked.

"Well," said the Mayor, "They're obviously a little concerned, but they don't want such a dangerous convict running to the next town, I mean, you know what I mean? They don't want him escaping."

"But they're fine with him running rampant through New York," the reporter said.

"As long as they stay at home, everyone will be fine," said the Mayor, "He's more likely to hide than attack anyone, but Police should have him recaptured by daybreak. Especially since all avenues out of the city have been cut off. Even the sewers are being watched!"

"And what about his companions? Didn't he have help?" the reporter asked.

"As far as we know, his accomplices have all been recaptured," said the Mayor, "They are said to be his brothers. The three prisoners are now in the custody of Government Agent John Bishop."

"Thank you Mister Mayor," said the Reporter, "The Police are advising that no one help the convict, who is incredibly dangerous, and apparently dressed in a ridiculous turtle costume. This is channel nine news, _On the Streets and Bringing You News_. Back to you, Kevin."

Donnie switched off the radio.

"Raph," he said, speaking into the still-open shellcell, "What's going on? They mentioned Bishop has _three _prisoners."

There was a short silence, and Donnie could hear Raph take a deep breath.

_"Donnie, I'm really sorry,"_ said Raphael, _"But I've been captured too."_


	3. In a Nutshell

_Wow, thank you guys a million for the reviews, favs and follows! It was really cool reading your ideas on what might be happening._

CHAPTER THREE

They knew Bishop, and Bishop was ruthless.

Mikey shivered and hugged his legs closer. It was the only warmth he had right now. Leo, however, continued to pace up and down the prison cell, the chain on his wrist clanking at every step and keeping him close to the wall. If he sat down next to Mikey the youngest would have been very comfortable, because Leonardo was obviously hot with rage.

"I can't believe I let this happen," Leo said.

"Not your fault, bro," Mikey said, teeth chattering.

"We should _never _have separated," Leo mumbled, "Who knows what he did with Raph and Donnie?"

"Maybe they got away?" Mikey asked hopefully.

"Fat chance," said Leo, "Did you see how fast he went into action? It's like Bishop _knew _we were coming."

"You are correct," said a familiar voice, "We _did_ know you were coming." The two turtles tensed, and turned towards the door to the cell.

Inside the locked room was Bishop, staring at them stoically.

Leo would have attacked, but a quick glance at the length of the chain attached to his wrist told him that Bishop was just out of reach.

"You might have to thank your brother Donatello when he joins us," Bishop said, "He hacked into the building this morning. Caught him looking at the secured online blueprints to my new exosuit, and it didn't take much to realize that you would be joining us today."

"What have you done with Donnie?" Leo asked.

"I? Nothing," said Bishop, "Unfortunately, that particular turtle has managed to evade my grasp. But don't worry, Leonardo; he is going to join us shortly. I have the whole city looking for him. And, I might say, your brother Raphael is going to be a great help to us."

"Raph?" Mikey asked, "What are you talking about, Bishop?"

Leonardo shot his younger brother a look, silently telling him to stop talking to the enemy.

But Bishop only smiled.

"Don't worry Michelangelo," he said, "He is in good hands. For now."

Leo growled, and moved quickly to stand as close to Bishop as the chain allowed. Bishop didn't even blink, although his hair moved just a little. It was the only sign that the man wasn't a statue.

"What have you done to Raphael?" Leo asked, letting his voice sound as harsh as possible.

"Not much," said Bishop, unconcerned, "Your brother is currently 'down for the count', as you might say. But for the moment, he is in good health."

Bishop turned around, and opened the cell door. He turned once more to smile coldly at the two remaining turtles, "Now," he said, "All we have to do is wait for Donatello. Then the fun can begin."

He closed the door behind him and gestured to his aid, who had remained outside the cell.

"Any progress?" Bishop asked as he walked down the hallway, fully aware that the Turtles could not hear him from inside their cell.

"None sir," said the aid, "The turtle is still at large, sir."

"Widen the search pattern," said Bishop, "I want him in my grasp by tonight."

"Yes sir," said the aid.

"I will not tolerate another failure like the one at the apartment complex," said Bishop, "The turtle _must not _know that we are coming."

"Yes sir," said the aid.

"And I want the name of whoever botched that mission," said Bishop, "I had the turtle right where I wanted him. We should have picked him up stunned and helpless from the wreckage of that building."

Bishop stopped, and thought.

"Sir?" asked the aid.

"Donatello must have been warned by someone," Bishop concluded, "It is the only explanation. I want that person found."

"Yes sir," said the aid.

Bishop smiled under his dark sunglasses. It wouldn't be long now.

Back inside the cell, Mikey shivered once again. Leo finally took notice and stopped pacing. He walked over to his brother on the ground and wordlessly sat down next to him, contributing some extra warmth to Michelangelo.

They both knew that neither of them would get any sleep that night. Their eyes looked towards the door, expecting Donnie to be thrown in at any moment.

Because they knew Bishop, and Bishop was ruthless.

* * *

"_What_?" Donnie yelled, nearly driving the bus off the road, "You've been captured? How can you be calling me, Raphael! Bishop always takes away our shellcells when he captures us. Is this some sort of a setup?"

_"Donnie, listen,"_ said Raph, _"I ain't calling from Bishop's place. And he doesn't know I'm calling."_

"So where are you?" Donnie asked.

_"That isn't important right now," _said Raph, _"What's important is that I get you to safety."_

"Raph, tell me what's going on," said Donnie, "How did you know the building would collapse? Or that I should take the bus? Are you watching me or something?"

_"I can't tell you that, not yet," _said Raph, _"And no, I'm not actually watching you. So don't do anything stupid thinking I'll be able to come rescue you."_

"Raph, you're scaring me," said Donnie, "Please, just tell me what is going on."

_"Alright, I'll tell you something,"_ said Raph, _"I'm fine right now. For now. But I'm not so sure about Leo and Mikey."_

"Wait," said Donnie, "You're not with them?"

_"No."_ Raph answered.

"Do you know where they are?"

_"Unfortunately, no. Probably in Bishop's building, but I can't be sure."_

Donnie groaned.

_"You should be coming up on that abandoned trailer soon,"_ Raph said, attempting to change the subject.

"Not so fast," said Donnie, "How do I know you're who you say you are? Are you really my brother?"

_"What kind of a shell-brained question is that?"_ Raphael said, offended, _"Why else would I rescue you, and help you get away from Bishop? Geez, bro, could you _be_ any more stupid?"_

"Sorry," said Don, "I was just being careful."

_"Yeah, sure braniac," _said Raph, still sounding upset, _"Do you see the trailer yet?"_

"No," said Don, "Where is it?"

_"How the shell should I know? All I know is that's you're close." _

"So where are you?" Donnie asked.

There was a short silence.

_"I wish I could tell you," _Raph responded, _"But I can't, Donny. I just…can't."_

"Alright," said Donnie, "Let's see if we can figure this out. You've been captured, but you're somewhere separate from Leo and Mikey. So how do you know they've been captured?"

_"Shell, you won't believe this Donny,"_ said Raph,_ "But I found it out on a computer."_

"Wait. Hold the phone," said Donnie, "You're at a computer?"

_"Yeah,"_ said Raph.

"And you figured out how to work it?"

_"Hey, that was insultin', bro."_

"How'd you manage to score a computer?"

_"Can't tell you,"_ said Raph, a smile in his voice.

"O-kay. So you're at a computer. Why didn't you say so earlier?" Donnie asked.

_"Ya didn't ask,"_ Raph chuckled.

"So let me get this straight," Don said, "I'm an escaped convict fleeing New York alone. Without my brothers."

_"Got it so far,"_ said Raph.

"And right now, _you_ are my only lifeline, unlikely as _that _seems," said Donnie.

_"Yup."_said Raph.

"And you're at a computer, which you've somehow managed to use _without_ breaking it to smithereens," Donnie concluded.

_"And give the turtle a prize! That's it in a nutshell, bro."_

Don pulled the bus to the side of the road and braked until it stopped. "This can't be real," he said, "It's too surreal. This must be some weird dream. Yeah, I probably ate some of Mikey's popcorn last night by mistake, right?"

_"Hate to break it to you, but this is real all right,"_ said Raph almost happily, _"Listen bro, we gotta get you outta there. It ain't safe until you get to the farmhouse. Can you see the abandoned trailer yet? It shouldn't be too far away, if I'm reading this satellite right."_

Donnie pinched himself, and gasped when he felt the pain.

"Then…oh shell…this is real. This is really real," said Donnie.

_"Yeah,"_ said Raph.

"This is actually happening…" said Donnie.

_"Listen bro, we need to hurry,"_ said Raph, _"Are you near the trailer? Can you see it?"_

"N-no," said Donnie, shaking. His breath sounded labored and strange.

_"Hey Donnie, you okay?" _

Donnie didn't answer, he just continued shaking. His breath started hitching as he found it difficult to breathe. He dropped the shellcell.

_"Donnie? Bro?"_ said Raph, his voice crinkling out of the shellcell from somewhere on the floor, _"Shell, are you going into shock? Donatello, listen to me…"_

But Donnie didn't respond. His fingers gripped the steering wheel, but he couldn't feel it.

_"Donnie, take a deep breath. Relax," _said Raph, _"Come on, bro. It'll go away. Just breathe. In and out... Breathe. In and out. That's it. I'm gonna get you outta this. It's just a panic attack, Donnie, you'll be fine…"_


	4. Farmhouse

_Hello again! Thank you all so much for the reviews, favs and follows. Even for just reading this! This author _meant_ for this chapter to be finished sooner, but a certain paper delayed everything just a little. Warning: papers might possibly delay the next chapter as well. I seriously need a break from them. __But on the bright side, habemus papam! That's Latin for 'We have a Pope!' So exciting! At school, classes were pretty much cancelled so that we could watch the papal announcement on Wednesday. __Alright now, back to the story. Enjoy!_

* * *

CHAPTER FOUR

It was too cold for turtles.

Leo hugged his legs tightly, trying to glean some warmth from them as well as from the wall he was leaning against. His legs, head, torso and left shoulder were cold. His right shoulder was hot, however. Mikey was asleep against that shoulder, snoring loudly and possibly drooling a little. Heh.

Leo exhaled slowly, half-heartedly examining the cloud of white that came from his mouth.

He knew that Donnie had somehow made it to safety, for now. Bishop had interrupted their night several times, giving them additional information as well as halting what little sleep they had somehow obtained. He had made it clear that the city was locked down about half an hour after Donnie had escaped, but within the first ten minutes the cars and trucks of all vehicles leaving the city began to be searched-just as a precaution, of course. There was no way Donnie could have gotten out of the city in time, but for some inexplicable reason his entire trail had been lost.

Leo was very proud.

Yet, there they were, waiting for Donnie in their prison cell. Mikey and Leo knew he would be there with them sooner or later, and when that happened, they would probably be rejoined with Raph as well. There was only so long Donnie could hide in the city, especially since the odds were highly against the fact that he had gotten out. Even the Hudson was being watched, Bishop said, and since he had no reason to lie to them about _that _Leo knew that there was no way for Don to escape via the water.

Maybe it would take a few days. Most likely it would be sooner than that. But when Donnie was captured, Bishop wouldn't hold back any longer. As soon as he had the full set-as he himself put it-whatever plan he had for them would be put into action. Even Mikey knew that.

Hopefully Donnie would last long enough to at least get some help. Maybe he could avoid Bishop entirely and live out his life alone, but safe. Hopefully he wouldn't be stupid enough to try to rescue them. Leo was worried about him, and about Raph as well. They hadn't seen their hot-headed brother once since they had been captured, but they didn't doubt that Bishop had him. If Donnie could at least last this first night, then maybe, just maybe, one of the turtles would survive…

The door opened, and Bishop walked into the cell. Only this time he wasn't alone. There were two of his lackeys behind him, and standing next to him was some kind of humanoid robot.

Mikey startled awake at the sound of the door, and was on his feet before he knew where he was.

"Who's there?" Mikey asked, seeing Bishop's robot while still half-asleep, "Mutant Robot Men? From the planet Trixnoth!"

"Mikey, stand down," said Leo calmly, getting up on his feet as well.

"Good morning," Bishop scowled, gesturing for the robot to stand by the door. The other two lackeys took up their positions behind Bishop, "I trust you slept well?"

"Come to give us our brothers, Bishop?" Leo asked, standing in a defensive position. The stance was pointless and he knew it, but he wasn't about to just give in, even if he _was _a prisoner.

"Hardly." Bishop seemed disinterested in his own information, "I've come to introduce you to your new guard. And to inform you that Donatello has managed to elude the initial search. The mayor is only going to let me keep the city on lockdown for two more days, so if you would like to lessen the pain of your shared torments you will tell me right now where he might be hiding."

Leo and Mikey looked at one another.

"And why should we do that?" Mikey asked.

Bishop smiled.

"You are all going suffer anyway," he said, "Especially Donatello, once he is found. If you tell me right now where to find him, I give you my word that you all shall have a minimal amount of pain before death."

The turtles looked at one another again, in a silent conference.

"Besides," Bishop added, "Donatello is very predictable. He may have the brain of a genius, but we already have him figured out. He won't be able to resist hacking into our website, or using his computer know-how to discover where you are. He has to use technology, and lucky for us, we have a tight eye on everything technological. One hack and we will know exactly where he is. So if you want him to suffer as little as possible when he is caught, you will tell me now where to find him."

"Never in a million years, Bishop," said Leo firmly.

Bishop shrugged. "Suit yourselves," he said, "But just so you know, I have men combing the city as we speak. Especially the sewers. And even if they do not find Donatello, there is another friend of yours down there. Now they presently have orders not to harm the rat, but you see, those orders could very easily be forgotten by my men. I would advise you to rethink your answer, Leonardo."

With that, Bishop turned around to exit the cell. The lackey's behind him stepped out of the room to allow him to exit. The robot, however, didn't move.

"If you will excuse me, I have other matters to attend to." Bishop said.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Mikey said.

Bishop turned around, looking visibly annoyed. Leo once more glared at his brother, but Mikey pretended not to notice.

"What's with the robot guy?" Mikey asked, gesturing.

Bishop smiled.

"Oh. That." He said, smiling, "I thought I made that clear. This will be your new guard until your brother is retrieved. A cyborg, a human being situated inside my high-tech exo-suit. The perfect combination of man and machine, and very fitting, if I do say so myself. After all, it was because of this suit that you became my sudden guests."

"That's an exo-suit? Cool! It looks like something from my comic books_,_" said Mikey, accidentally pulling at his chains as he tried to get a closer look, "Hey, wait a second! If it's _your_ suit, why aren't you the one wearing it?"

Bishop looked at him directly, sunglasses obscuring his eyes from view. His eyebrow indicated that he thought the question was very unintelligent.

"One of my men is wearing it for me," he said, then smiled wryly, "The suit would only slow me down."

He turned again to leave the room.

"Wait, Bishop!" said Leo, "We're contained. You can unite us with Raphael now."

Bishop continued walking.

"Wait!" said Leo, "Where are you keeping our brother? What have you done to him?"

But Bishop, without turning back once, left the room locking the door behind him.

Despite his chains, Mikey tried to step closer to the new guard to examine him. But the cyborg moved, turning to look towards Mikey. The face, which was entirely hidden by the suit, appeared to stare back at him.

Mikey gulped, and took a step back.

* * *

Ugggh. Morning already?

Ow. Sore. Ugh.

Must have been some major fight. What had they been doing last night? Purple Dragons? Foot Ninjas? The days all seemed to blend together sometimes. They were just so predictable.

Wait, was that light streaming through the window? He didn't have a window, he lived in the sewers. So where was he?

Donnie sat up in the bed and rubbed the back of his head. He was in his room at the farmhouse. Casey's farmhouse. Huh. Now if he could only remember why they had come there. Hmm…why couldn't he remember? Oh shell, it would come back to him alright, right after coffee.

Hmm, coffee. Mikey probably had a pot going for him by now. He wondered if Mikey was going to wake up Raph soon, the house didn't seem right when it was so quiet.

Donnie slid out of bed and groggily made his way downstairs. The kitchen light was off; he was up before Mikey. Weird, that was a first. Hm, Leo hadn't started the fire in the living room yet. He must be out training with Sensei. Maybe they took Mikey with them, it would explain why the house was so quiet.

Donnie proceeded to make the coffee, and eased himself into a chair at the table. Wait, it was already half past nine? Shell, he had slept in! Everyone else must have had breakfast already. Well, at least he wasn't officially in trouble until Sensei got back.

Good, the coffee was ready. He groggily poured the stuff into a mug, which he gingerly blew on to cool it off before he then proceeded to gulp it down, not even bothering to add milk and sugar.

He set the mug down, and glanced around the kitchen.

And then it hit him like a load of bricks that he was the only turtle at the farmhouse.

"Shell," he said out loud, "It isn't true. That was all a bad dream, right? Come on guys, come out! Leo! Raph? Mikey!"

No answer.

His memory of the night before suddenly came back. How he had a panic attack, how Raph eventually calmed him down, that he had ditched the bus for an abandoned trailer, which he had driven to the farmhouse…why he had left New York…

Like a bullet, Donnie raced to the television and turned it on. The main headline on the news concerned the lockdown of New York City…he switched it off again.

"Drats," he said, sitting on the couch, "I remember now. I drove all the way here last night in an abandoned highway vehicle."

Donnie took a deep breath, and reached for his shellcell.

"No, I won't contact Raph until he calls me first," he said, replacing the cell, "I don't want to risk calling him while he is captured by Bishop. But I _can _start coming up with a plan to rescue my brothers…"

Hm. If he could utilize some of tools in the barn…And the computer in the guest room that only Casey ever actually used…

The cell rang.

"Hello?" said Don, answering it.

_"Just checking in on ya,"_ said Raph, _"You're laying low, right?"_

"For now," said Donnie, "I'm thinking of how best to come up with a plan to rescue our brothers. And you."

_"Donnie, this is Bishop we're talking about,"_ said Raph, _"Ya gotta be careful."_

"I know, and I am," said Donnie, "Listen, I was hoping you could give me some information."

_"About what?"_

"About what on earth is going on," said Donnie, "How did you know to warn me to move away from the car and the building?"

_"Listen, we don't got time for this,"_ said Raph, _"Just follow my lead, alright? Stay out of trouble."_

Donny sighed. His inquisitive brain threatening to burst, but first things first. His brothers needed to be rescued.

He took his coffee mug, refilled it and headed over to the small computer in the back bedroom. It was an insanely old box-like contraption that accessed internet through a cable rather than wifi, but it worked, and right now that was all that mattered.

"Alright," Don said, sitting down at the computer, "Do you still have access to that computer you were telling me about?"

_"Yeah."_

"Good. If it's safe for you, can you use it to find where Mikey and Leo are being held?" Donnie asked.

_"No," _said Raph, _"But I know where they are now. They're in Bishop's building. Um, I don't know exactly where they are on the map. There are places the computer won't let me see. Needs a password."_

"Alright," said Don, his mind whirring as he turned on the computer in front of him, "Don't worry about that. I can find the information myself if I hack into Bishop's mainframe."

_"That won't be for a while, Donny,"_ said Raph, _"Ya can't get back into the city yet. Bishop is still looking for ya."_

"Listen Raph, I'm not just going to sit here in the empty farmhouse all day," said Donnie, starting to type, "The place gets cold, remember?"

_"Did you try turning on the heater?"_

"Quit it, Raph! Alright. If you're computer is hooked up to Bishop's headquarters, and I think it is, can you find the blueprints to the building?"

_"Probably. Hang on a sec…Okay, you're in luck! I got the plans for ya."_

Donnie shook his head in disbelief. How fast _was _Raph's computer?

_"What do you want me to do with the blueprints? Email them to ya?"_

"Perfect," said Donnie, typing on his computer, "Then I can pull them up and utilize them at once."

_"Huh? Why would you be using them now?"_

"Because I'm currently hacking into his system," Donnie said, smiling as binary code flashed across the screen before him.

_"You're what?"_ Raph asked, sounding concerned, _"Shell, Don!"_

"Calm down, I can work a computer remember? It's easier for me to find this information than for you," said Donnie, "Although the blueprints will seriously help. Shouldn't take too long to find Leo and Mikey now."

_"Donnie, you don't understand,"_ said Raph, _"Bishop is expecting ya to do that."_

"What are you talking about?" asked Donnie.

_"Did you already hack into his stuff?"_

"Yeah," said Donnie, "I'm doing it now."

Raphael groaned.

_"Listen,"_ he said, _"you can't just go hacking into Bishop's place! What the _shell_ were you thinking?!"_

"Why not?" Donnie asked defensively, "It's something I'm perfectly good at."

_"Yeah, _too_ perfectly,"_ said Raph, _"You're always thinking about computers and gizmos. You're a regular genius when it comes to that stuff, ya know that? But guess what. Bishop knows it too. In fact, only one person would hack into Bishop's stuff right now, and that person is you."_

Donnie stopped typing, and simply stared at the screen.

_"You just ran into a trap,"_ said Raph, _"He's probably on his way there right now, Don. Tracking your internet or somethin'." _

Donnie paused. "Oh no," he said.

_"Donnie,"_ said Raph, _"Get outta there. Now."_


	5. Bishop Hunts

_What, another chapter already? Apparently, while on small breaks from major, stressful papers this author...writes. Thanks a ton for the reviews, favs and follows, and for reading! It's really cool to see your guesses about Raph. I'm not going to say just yet whether they're right or not, but I _will_ say that there_ _is an explanation for what's going on. :)_

CHAPTER FIVE

"_Donnie. Donnie, did you hear me? Get the shell outta there!"_

Donnie tensed, his fingers gripping the table. The monitor of the computer before him was right where he left off. But the damage was done. Raph was right, Bishop had found him. He couldn't possibly have missed Don hack into his mainframe, if he was looking for it. Which he was.

This wasn't good. Donnie needed to act. Now. He had no idea when Bishop would get there, but knowing Bishop…just great. He had only just got there, for Pete's sake! His coffee was even still hot.

Snatching up his shellcell and placing it in his belt without hanging up on his brother, Donnie left the computer on as he raced into the kitchen.

"_Donnie?" _Raph's voice sounded faint coming from his belt.

"Still here Raph, a little busy right now," Donnie responded.

He grabbed a large grocery bag and stuffed into it as much food and bottled water from the pantry as he dared, then threw it over his shoulder Santa-style and raced for the old barn. He didn't even bother to close the farmhouse door, and he regretfully pushed aside the thought of taking the tools which were in the living room. Instead he focused all his energy on getting to the vehicle he had hidden in the barn the night before.

He yanked open the car door, which he had not bothered to lock since the car was in the barn. Throwing the bag of supplies into the backseat, he frantically began searching for the key. Where was it? Had he taken the keys inside? Should he go back in to get them? Would that be safe? Approximately how far away was Bishop, and what was the closest distance he could be in miles if he left as soon as Donnie hacked the computer? _Where were those keys?_

Oh, here they were: still in the ignition. Donnie got into the car and started the engine, then drove the car quickly through the half-closed barn doors. Thankfully they opened outwards for him as the car pushed through them, and so seemed unharmed, but he made a mental note to check them for Casey later.

The sound of a helicopter appeared above him, from somewhere in the trees on the other side of the house. Donnie tensed. He didn't want to believe it, but there was no doubt this belonged to Bishop. It couldn't belong to anyone else; Don had never seen or heard anything fly near that house that wasn't either a kite or Casey dressed as a squirrel. And that helicopter sure sounded close.

Oh boy, Bishop was faster than he had reckoned.

It was already too late to take the driveway to the main road; the helicopter would see it as soon as it came into view. But the driveway wasn't the only thing that led to the main street. Donatello turned the wheel and drove the vehicle directly into the woods. Instantly, he wished he had worked on the shock absorbers when he had fixed up this old abandoned car the night before. It was obvious that no man or Turtle had ever driven through this section of the woods before.

Hopefully they wouldn't discover his tracks until long after he had used his new 'shortcut' to reach the main road.

"_Donnie, you still there?" _Raph asked, his voice faint since the shellcell was still in Don's belt.

"Yeah," said Don, holding the wheel with both hands, "I'm currently escaping the farmhouse. I heard a helicopter; I think Bishop is already here."

As he spoke Donatello made it out of the woods and reached the main road, nearly crashing into an incoming car as he pulled out into the road and turned to the left.

"_Did you lose him?"_ Raph asked.

"I don't know," said Donnie, driving down the road at what he assumed was a normal speed while trying to look for the helicopter behind him, "I made it to the main road. I don't see the copter yet…wait, there it is. It finally came into view."

"_What's he doing?"_ Raph asked.

Donnie stared at the helicopter through his rearview mirrors. "He's circling the farmhouse. That means he didn't see me leave it. I think I'm safe, for now."

Donnie slumped into his seat in relief.

"_Good." _said Raph, "_Inventory."_

"Car, self, shellcell, sack of food and water." Donnie rattled off, "That's it. I left behind all weapons except my staff, and I left the disguises we keep in the closet, blankets, spare tools…you know what, I'm not even going to continue. I left behind almost everything, and only barely made it out."

"_Plan?"_ asked Raph.

"Let's see. Clothing and blankets from Goodwill. Stop at the library for internet-" said Donnie.

"_Think again."_

Donnie paused. "Huh?" he asked.

"_You almost got caught back there," _Raph said angrily, "_Bishop even saw it coming. You're too predictable sometimes, Don. New plan: stay away from technology. Let me do the computer stuff. I got a computer, after all."_

Donnie laughed. "No offense Raph, but computers aren't your strong suit."

"_Yeah, and my attack plans aren't your strong points either."_ said Raph, a smile in his voice, "_But the way I see it, they're the only way for you ta get past Bishop."_

"What?"

"_You want a plan? I'll give it to ya. You're going to do what Bishop will never expect. I'll help as much as I can, but Don, ya gotta change your strategy. Act like me or somethin'."_

"Raph, are you serious?"

"_Of course I am,"_ said Raph,

"Raphael," said Donnie, "That's insane."

"_Insane enough to keep ya alive,_ _Donatello,"_ said Raph, "_You can do it, you just don't want to. And right now, because you don't want to is why Bishop will never see it coming."_

Donnie took a deep breath. As much as he hated to admit it, Raph was right. Even if what he said still sounded a little crazy.

"Alright," he said, "So what do I do instead of going to the library?"

"_Well, right now Bishop is too close. You know how good he is; he'll be on your trail soon enough as it is. Following your tire tracks or something. You're gonna have to ditch the car anyway, might as well be soon."_

"Ok," said Donnie. This made sense, at least.

"_So we have two choices: fight or flight."_ Raph continued, "_I'd choose fight, but we want to save that for later. So fer now, you're going ta go into the nearby city and ditch the car a mile away from the bus stop."_

"Right," said Donnie, "Only, instead of getting on the bus, I'm going to head somewhere else. Probably in the completely opposite direction, like Canada or the Rockies."

"_And that's where you're wrong," _said Raph, "_You're gonna get on that bus, and you're gonna head straight back to good ol' New York City."_

"What? That's suicide! Bishop thinks like a chess player, remember? So he'd _expect_ me to head back to New York right away. Besides, the city is still under lockdown. Trust me Raph, it's better if I go to Canada. Or maybe I should make him _think _I'm heading to Canada, and I should really be heading…"

"_Oh for cryin' out loud!"_ interrupted Raph, "_Just head straight for New York. He probably won't expect ya to go for the straight route, anyway."_

Donnie was silent, pondering that over. Could it really be so simple with Bishop?

"_If you want, you can pull a Leo and go _past _the city,"_ said Raph, "_He probably won't expect that either, since ya obviously want to rescue us."_

"Um," said Don, "I don't think-"

"_But for now,"_ interrupted Raph, "_Concentrate on abandoning the car and getting on that bus. Um, let's see, how do I find the bus schedule? No, that's solitaire…and that's the computer's operating system…wait...here it is. Finally got the internet. The next bus leaves in half an hour."_

"Um, alright," said Donnie, spotting the Goodwill near the road. He mentally noted to ask Raph which system the computer used, it seemed to be pretty fast. Either that or his brother had gotten a whole lot better at using search engines. Donnie pulled the car into the parking lot, and drove around the back of the building.

"_I think I can book ya a hotel somewhere halfway between here and New York," _said Raph, "_That way, it'll be harder for Bishop to find ya, and we can come up with a better rescue plan as we go. Got it?"_

"Yup. Hey, how are you going to book a hotel without Bishop finding out?"

"_Leave that to me."_

"O-kay," said Donnie hesitantly, "Do you even know _how _to book a room at a hotel?"

"_Shell,"_ said Raph, "_I gotta go."_

"What is it? What's happening?" Donnie asked.

"_Bishop. It's Bishop. He's here."_

"What? But I thought he was at the farmhouse," said Donnie, "Raph, are you near the farmhouse?"

"_No._ _Guess he sent other people to the farmhouse, 'cause he's coming my way. I need to hang up before he gets here,"_ Raph said, "_I'll call you at the hotel, alright? I'll uh, I'll text you which one. Stay away from computers and stuff, okay? Remember, Bishop has it all rigged to find ya. Just lay low, and stay on that bus unless I tell ya not to."_

"Wait," said Donnie, "Are you going to be all right? Where is Bishop keeping you?"

"_Gotta go. Good luck, bro."_ said Raph, hanging up the phone.

Silence reigned in the car, until Donnie put his shellcell back in his belt and finally turned off the car's engine.

Donatello's overused mind took advantage of the quiet moment to sneak in a few thoughts.

"Did he just say he'd _text _me?" Don asked himself aloud. Raphael _never_ texted anyone if he could help it. He must be in big trouble to feel the need to resort to _that_.

How Raph had kept the shellcell while in Bishop's prison was a mystery, but how he was going to pay for a hotel on Bishop's computer without Bishop knowing about it was an even bigger mystery. Even though Bishop didn't know Raph had access to the computer, he would know Raph booked a hotel as soon as he saw the bill. So was it a good idea to follow Raphael's plan? And why wouldn't Raph tell him where he was being held captive?

What was it that Raph was hiding from him?

* * *

In a bored fit of having nothing better to do, Michelangelo had decided to have a staring contest with the cyborg guard. He was probably losing of course, since the guard's face was completely masked by the exosuit. But still, it was a great distraction, and it gave him something to do while Leo attempted to think up a plan to get them out of there.

Suddenly the cyborg, who had remained completely still with arms at his sides-Bishop had said the person wearing the suit was a man, right? Mikey hoped so, it would have been weird if it was a girl-inclined his head towards the door. Leo tensed, and Mikey dared to speak, inadvertently averting his eyes from the guard to address his brother.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Bishop," said Leo, sensing that something was very wrong, "Bishop is coming."

The next few moments were very tense, but within half a minute the door slammed open to reveal a very angry Bishop, followed by two men again-only this time, the men were different.

His first action was to punch a hole in the cell wall.

"Your brother," Bishop seethed, not even hurt from his own punch, "Was caught hacking into my computer. From a small farmhouse in the countryside."

Leo and Mikey looked at one another in astonishment. Donnie had gotten to the farmhouse?

"He escaped my city," said Bishop, "How did he leave _my _city?"

"Um, he escaped?" Mikey joked, stating the obvious.

But his sense of humor went unappreciated. Bishop glared at him, then turned to the cyborg guard who was still standing by the door.

"Seize the turtle," Bishop ordered, and instantly the cyborg complied. He took three steps forward and grabbed Mikey by the throat, lifting him easily up into the air, chain and all.

Instantly Leo was on his feet, but Bishop's men rushed forward and held him back.

"Wait!" said Leo, trying to force himself out of their grasp, "He was only joking. He shouldn't have been, but he was. Let him go!"

"Well?" Bishop said, ignoring Leonardo, "Why is the turtle still able to breathe?"

The grip on Mikey's throat tightened, both marginally and painfully.

"Wait!" Leo shouted, "Let him go! Take me instead."

Bishop smiled, and signaled to the cyborg. He promptly let go of Mikey, causing him to land gasping for breath on the floor.

"You heard the turtle," Bishop said, "Take him into the other room. And use the arms. They haven't been tested yet."

The cyborg approached Leo slowly, and untied his chains from the wall. Instantly Leo tried to escape, but the cyborg was wearing an exosuit. He tied Leo's hands together before he roughly stood him on his feet and dragged him out of the room. Bishop's two men followed them out the door, leaving Mikey alone with Bishop.

When the cyborg finally returned with Leo who knows how much later, Mikey was a nervous wreck. Bishop had been smiling at him the entire time, probably deciding that the best way to punish Michelangelo was to unnerve him as much as possible. Mikey was so nervous by the time the cyborg came back carrying Leo, with the two henchmen trailing behind them, that he gave an audible sigh of relief. That caused the cyborg to pause and look in his direction, but he thankfully chose to ignore the turtle and continued into the room.

It was obvious that Leo had gotten his shell kicked pretty badly. The cyborg set him down on the ground and chained him back to the wall, then turned to face Bishop for further instructions.

"Let this be a lesson. I am not to be insulted. Is that understood?"

Silence, except for Leonardo's labored breathing.

"Very good," said Bishop, "Now, where was I? Ah yes. Donatello has somehow made it out of New York. But not for long. We will capture him shortly, and he will not evade my grasp again."

He stepped towards the door, then signaled to the cyborg.

"There has been a change of plans," he said to the cyborg, "I require the suit to capture Donatello, and as such, you are hereby relieved from guard duty. Besides, the arms of the suit have demonstrated themselves to be weak; Leonardo is still conscious, I see. It must be a problem with the suit's settings. Follow me. We will fix the suit in preparation for our capture of the final turtle."

The cyborg obediently left the room after Bishop, and the door locked behind them. That left Leo and Mikey sitting with each other in silence once again. Mikey's throat still hurt a little, but he was more concerned about the way his brother was breathing.

"I'm sorry," Mikey finally whispered.

"Don't-don't take it personally," said Leo, "Bishop was pretty mad at Donnie. He was probably going to attack us for any reason we gave him."

"I'm still sorry though," said Mikey.

"Don't be," smiled Leo, "I'm already over it. The guard didn't hit me too hard, a few bruises here and there, but not even a broken rib. It could have been a lot worse."

"Still, I'd hate to see that guy when the suit is at full strength," Mikey said, shivering-likely from the cold, "He gives me the creeps."

"That's the problem," said Leo, "Bishop is going to send that _thing_ out to capture Donnie."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth Leo wished he hadn't said that. It made the whole situation somehow real. The two brothers took another look at one another.

"Is he going to be alright?" Mikey asked, his eyes begging for consolation.

Leo didn't answer right away.

Mikey sighed, and moved to sit up against his brother. It was getting cold in the cell again, and his brother was warm.

"I hope so Mikey," Leo finally answered, "I hope so."

The cell was quiet again.

"Yeah," said Mikey softly, breaking the silence, "Me too."


	6. Narrow Escape

_Whoa, this chapter is a little longer than I thought! You guys don't mind, right? Thanks for all the favs, follows and reviews! :)_

CHAPTER SIX

When the bus pulled up Donatello was ready, dressed from head to toe in an outfit chosen to hide him entirely, and with his staff disguised as a walking cane again. His food and water had been transferred into an old backpack, obtained with his disguise from Goodwill. He walked in and chose an empty seat. The lady he sat down next to took one brief look at him before returning to her paper.

He really hoped that Bishop would buy this whole Donatello-is-actually-heading-straight-for-New-York-instead-of-elsewhere business. It was so unlike Don that he wondered if it was actually believable. He had just left the car near the bus stop and…got on the bus. It was so simple that it might actually work, since Bishop would assume that Donnie had a much more intelligent plan up his sleeves.

Maybe taking advice from Raphael might actually be a good idea. But he still wouldn't make a habit of it.

But what would he do when he was back in New York? The lack of an in-depth plan was driving him crazy. He would have preferred to have five different plans in motion right now. Instead, he was winging it, Raph style.

The bus hit a pothole, which everyone in the bus ignored. They still had a long way to go, but Donatello couldn't just sit back and enjoy the ride. He needed to think. The lockdown of New York would be lifted soon, he didn't doubt that at all. It wasn't good for tourism, and the locals weren't going to be too happy about it if it went on too long. He could sneak in as soon as it was down. And maybe Bishop wouldn't expect him back at New York so soon, since he had just learned that Donnie was at the Farmhouse.

The shellcell beeped, and Donnie shifted in surprise. A text already? That meant that Raph had already booked the hotel for him. Just how fast _was _Raphael's computer?

He looked at the text:

_Get off_

Wait. What?

He looked at the text again. It was obviously from Raph; the curt way his brother wrote his texts was proof enough of that. But what was he talking about? What did Raph want him to get off of?

Donnie slapped his own forehead, startling the woman seated to him. The bus. Raph wanted him to get off the bus! Geez, he could have just said the whole thing in the text message.

But he had only just got _on _the bus, and he was supposed to stay there all the way to New York. Why had Raphael changed the plan? Was this some kind of trap?

No, he shook his head. Bishop wouldn't dare try to trap him with something so obviously suspiscious. Besides, the caller ID said _Raphael_. The text _was _from his brother. Come to think of it, this was the perfect definition of a Raph plan: the plan changes at whim. Well, at least this was unpredictable enough to fool Bishop.

Groaning, Donnie got up and put on his backpack, then grabbed his staff. Despite the movement of the bus, he walked up to the front of the bus and waited.

"You getting' off?" a man near the front asked.

"Yeah," said Donnie.

"You sure?" the man asked, "There isn't anythin' around at the next stop. Mostly for residents to get to work, and even they have to walk a ways to get back home. Most take a bike though."

"I'm visiting a friend." Donnie said.

"There could be a closer stop," the man said, "This one is out in the middle o' nowhere."

"No thanks," said Donnie.

The man shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said.

When the bus finally pulled up at the bus stop, Donatello was the only one to get off the bus. It was a stop in the middle of the woods somewhere, with the bus stop shelter being the only immediate sign of civilization. A few cars drove down the road, but since there was nothing nearby they continued driving on.

"Great," Donnie said sarcastically to himself, "Now I'm _off _the bus and out in the open."

What the shell was he supposed to do now? Wasn't Raph supposed to call him at this point or something? Maybe he should call Raph, just to confirm the meaning of the text.

No. Raph _couldn't _call Donnie, because he had no idea when Donnie would get off the bus. So that meant that Donnie would need to call him instead. But he _couldn't _call his brother, in case Bishop was in the room.

But how was Donnie supposed to know what to do, unless Raph told him? He trusted his brother, but he preferred to plan things out first. As in, don't randomly tell a guy to get off a bus without telling him where to go afterwards.

So. Should he head off into the woods, follow the road or stay where he was? Which route would bring him to New York faster? Hm. If he went into the woods it would be easier for Bishop to capture him there than if he was in a crowded city. ..

Suddenly a loud honking sound brought Don harshly back to reality.

A large black limo that had traversed the otherwise abandoned road was beeping its horn while going five miles an hour. And although it was the daytime, the headlights were flashing. It looked like the driver was trying to hail Donnie.

Something strange was going on. And-well, he didn't want to make it look any stranger by ignoring this. Maybe the guy was lost. Probably, since Bishop would have used something more inconspicuous than a limo. Don walked over to the driver's side window.

"Uh, can I help you?" Donnie asked.

"Are you Donatello?" the driver asked as he rolled down his window.

"Uh," said Donnie, immediately suspicious. Bishop wouldn't set a trap as obvious as a limousine, would he? "Who are you?"

"I was hired by your travel agent to bring you to your hotel," the driver said, taking Donnie completely by surprise, "Was told to follow the bus until some overly-dressed fella by the name of Donatello got off, probably carrying a cane. Heh, I didn't know he meant you dressed like _that_, I thought he meant a tux. Seriously man, it's summer. Aren't you hot?"

"Excuse me," said Donnie politely, "But just to make sure we're on the same page, what hotel are you taking me to?"

"The one you booked," the driver said, "It's the-"

Did Raphael seriously just send him a limousine to bring him to a hotel? A little warning might have been nice.

But why the limo? And why the change of plans? Come to think of it, how did Raph manage to book a hotel and also get a _limousine_?

"-ey, Buddy! Are you listening?" The limo driver said, interrupting Donnie's thoughts, "Either you get in or you don't. What's it going to be?"

"Sorry," Donnie apologized.

He thought for a few seconds. If the same offer to hop in a limousine had been given to Raph, the older turtle would have jumped right in, with Donnie and Leo warning him that it might be a trap. Mikey, on the other hand, would have called shotgun and jumped right in the front seat. Bishop knew that it was completely unlike Donnie to enter a strange vehicle like this, and therefore, when he thought about it, Don concluded that this limo probably _was _arranged by Raphael.

"I'm coming." he finally announced.

"Good," said the driver, getting out of the car, "I'll open the door for you."

As Donnie moved to get inside the black limousine, he wondered if he had made the right decision. Because if not, he was walking straight into a trap.

The driver closed the door and returned to his seat, soon bringing the vehicle to motion again. He was too far away for Donnie to speak to him comfortably, but maybe there was an intercom somewhere in this thing. After a few minutes, Donnie thought of searching for it. Maybe there was a button on this door handle…

Shell. Donnie ducked, pushing himself as close to the floor as he was able. Outside of the window the limo had just passed the same bus he had just been on. It was pulled over to the side of the road, and everyone who should have been sitting comfortably inside it was standing angrily outside of it. But what had prompted him to duck was the presence of his old friend Bishop, standing calmly outside the bus.

Raphael had saved him once again.

* * *

Traffic on the road was at a minimum. That was good, since the area was easier to contain, and it might be easier for witnesses to remember that they saw something unusual. Everyone on the bus needed to be interrogated, and the search needed to be resumed as soon as possible. The turtle would _not _get away again.

Bishop glared at the bus. The turtle must have been warned. Ergo, there must be a leak within his building. It was the only explanation.

One of his men walked up to him.

"Report," said Bishop mechanically.

"The turtle got off the bus at a stop about a mile away from here," said the henchman, "The nearest building to the bus stop is at least a mile away from it. It's in the middle of nowhere, sir."

"Have a team of men investigate it immediately," Bishop ordered, "If there are woods nearby, I want them combed. I want the road searched. Get a satellite to monitor the entire area for any activity within a fifteen mile radius, and get me a timetable of all the other busses that halted at that stop. Monitor and detain every bus that stopped there before my men were on the site. I want to know where each of those busses is heading, where they stop, and if anyone on one of those busses saw interesting even resembling a giant turtle. Understand?"

"Yes sir," said the henchman, turning to go.

"Wait," said Bishop.

The man waited.

"There was no way the turtle knew we were coming," said Bishop, "It was obvious that he intended to mislead us by leaving his vehicle so close to the bus stop. So someone must have warned him we were coming. I want a thorough investigation of every communication between each of my employees and the outside world."

"Yes sir," said the lackey. He turned to leave again, and this time Bishop didn't stop him.

A second man came up to Bishop just as the first man was finished, "Excuse me, sir." He said, "The driver wants to know if he can leave."

"Very well," Bishop said, "The bus can resume its route. I have all the information I need."

* * *

Turns out that by the time the limo driver had reached the hotel Donnie had made it about halfway back to New York. Which meant that he was halfway to his goal.

He had finally torn off the last of his disguise and was currently lying on his belly in the darkened room. It was dark because he had made certain to close all the curtains, and the ones that did not properly close had been covered with a shower curtain. Right now, he was lying on the bed, staring at the news.

He had never been in a hotel before. He had always assumed that his brothers would be with him when he did. It took him ten minutes to figure out how to turn on the television-something Mikey would have figured out within the first ten seconds.

"_And now for local news," _said the reporter, "_The Mayor of the city has announced that the city-wide lockdown is being lifted. We assume this means that the fugitive has been caught, although police have not officially made a statement."_

Donnie smiled. It would be a lot easier to sneak into the city with the lockdown lifted.

"_And this just in," _continued the reporter, "_The government has ruled about an hour ago that certain public busses around New York are to be searched for an entirely different and equally dangerous public criminal. As of now, most of the busses heading north towards Canada have already been searched, and the woods around one particular bus stop have nearly been demolished from the search. We'll have more on that later. In other news, two hundred people made the World Record today for most people to rescue a cat stuck up a tree. The rescue began early this morning, when little Snowflake-"_

Donnie turned off the television, and began thinking. Raph had saved him by telling him to get off the bus and sending him a limo. But how did Raph know what Bishop was up to?

His shellcell rang. Quickly, he answered it.

"Finally, Raphael!" he said, getting off the bed, "What took you so long to call? I was getting worried!"

Silence.

"Raph?" Donnie asked.

"_Don,"_ said Raph, his voice coming in fast and breathless, but also filled with relief, "_You made it."_

"Hey, Raph," said Donnie, his voice changing its tone entirely, "What happened? Are you alright?"

The cell was silent for a few seconds. "_Yeah," _Raph finally responded, "_Glad…you're okay too."_

At nearly every other word, Raphael was pausing to take in a deep breath.

"Raph," said Donnie.

"_It's…fine,"_ said Raph, sounding very breathless, "_Nothing I…can't handle."_

"What happened? Did Bishop do this to you?" Donnie asked.

"_Yeah."_ said Raph.

Donnie tightened his fists.

"What did he do?" he asked.

"_Heh. As if I'd…tell ya,"_ said Raph, "_Don't worry, he…left my alone now. I'm sorta in solitary confinement."_

"Don't worry. I'm going to get you guys out," Don said, "Can you arrange for another vehicle to take me into a New York hotel as soon as possible?"

"_Yeah…I can do that."_

"Good," said Donnie, "If I leave fast, I can get right under Bishop's nose while he's still searching for me near where I got off the bus."

"…_Alright."_

"Do you think you can work the computer enough to follow my instructions?"

"_Yes…what do you…have in mind?"_

"I'm thinking of setting up a false hack that Bishop can trace back to the farmhouse or something. That way he won't expect me to attack his headquarters right away; he'll think I'm still gathering information."

"_That's good Donnie,"_ said Raph, "_Using your own…weakness against him."_

"Hey! Computer skills are not a weakness," said Donnie, "But I do need some information. Ugh, what do I do, Raph? To get info I need a computer..."

"_No you…don't," _said Raph, "_You want…information? You get it the…old-fashioned way: good ol' interrogation. Or you could always…just ask nicely."_

"You think you can get it?" Donnie asked, surprised, "I need to have the layout of Bishop's lair, his main security points, and the location of each turtle inside. But even with your computer, you're still captured. So I don't know how much information you can find."

"_I already gave ya the blueprints…remember?"_ Raph asked, sounding exasperated, "_I sent them…to your email. Geez, Donnie! I just don't…know where Leo and Mikey are on it."_

"Okay, so that's the first order of business," Don said, "Just who _would _know where they are?"

"_Or,"_ said Raph, "_Who can…find out fer us?"_

The two thought for a minute.

"You know," said Don, "I'm betting that Karai could find out."

"_Can we trust her?"_

"Probably not," said Don, "But it's worth a shot. And Foot headquarters might be a good place for me to hack into my own email account to print out the blueprints to the building. If Bishop traces the hack, he'll trace it to the Foot and not to me."

"_Why do ya need…to hack into…your own email?"_

"Just in case Bishop is watching for any activity of me on the internet," said Donnie, "It's better for him to think the Foot hacked into my account than if I just went in and printed the thing out. Plus, I have no idea what would happen if Bishop caught you directing me into the building. I need to know my way around in case we get disconnected."

"_Sounds good," said Raph, "How are you…getting into Foot central?"_

Donatello waved his hand nonchalantly, even if Raph couldn't see it.

"We've been there enough times, I know my way around," he said.

"_Alright,"_ said Raph, "_And, while we were talking…I arranged fer a car to pick you up….Will take ya the rest of the way into New York, to another hotel. It's getting there in…about forty-five minutes. Best I could do so fast. I think the hotel will call…you when it gets there."_

"Great, thanks!" said Donnie, "Getting back to the city today should give me time to get to Karai and find out where you guys are being held before Bishop realizes I'm leading him off track. Speaking of which, are you ready to create the false hack? Just follow my commands, I'll try to make it simple."

"_I thought we were gonna wait until…you got to the Foot,"_ Raph said.

"To hack into my email and print out the blueprints, yes," said Donnie, "But I want to first throw him off track by faking a hack originating from the Farmhouse. Don't worry, I'll do the best I can to make sure he doesn't trace it back to your computer. Are you ready?"

"_Fine,"_ said Raph, "_Just speak…English, okay?"_

"Will do. First, go to the control panel and type in-"

"_What's that?"_

"What's what? Oh. The control panel. Well, the easiest way to find it is to go to the startup menu and-"

"_The _what_?"_

"Oh come on Raphael, you know what the startup menu is! It's on the monitor of the computer."

"_Is that where you put the DVDs and CD-ROMS?"_

Donnie was silent for a few seconds.

"Really, Raph?" he finally said, "How'd you even make it to the internet, or book this hotel? You know what, I'll tell you later. Um, do you see a tiny button on the bottom left side of the computer screen?"

Sometime afterwards, Donnie had succeeded in getting Raph to make it seem as if Donnie was trying to hack into Bishop's framework from the farmhouse. Raph had long since given up trying to understand exactly what he was doing, but still, Don thought that this was a great accomplishment for a brother whose normal way of fixing a computer is to smash it to smithereens.

"_Hopefully Bishop won't…realize it's a trick until later,"_ Raph said.

"Don't worry," said Don, "As soon as I get the information on where you guys are, I'll have you all out of there."

"_Good,"_ said Raph, "_And Don, remember…go in without …one o' your Geek strategies."_

"Raphael," said Donnie, "Can you tell me anything about where you are so that-"

"NO!" Raph shouted, then sounded like he winced as he regained his breath, "_Get Leo and… and Mikey first. I think they've been…tortured too, and I don't know how they are. See, Bishop…lost your trail…and he's mad."_

"Is that why he tortured you, Raph?"

"_He's searchin' for ya,"_ Raph said, "_Word of warning: he sent...sent…"_

"Sent what?" Don asked.

"_It can…break metal…state of the art…"_

Donnie's eyes lit up in understanding.

"Bishop's new exosuit?" Donnie asked, "He's _wearing_ it? But the plans I read the other day said it was still in the experimental stage!"

"_He ain't wearing it,"_ said Raph, "_Someone else is._ _But he…sent it after ya…be careful, Don."_

Raphael was sounding weaker by the minute.

"Raph," said Donnie, "Hang in there, bro. I'll find a way to get you guys out. I promise."

Silence.

"Raphael?" Donnie asked, "Raph? Raph!"

*Beep!* _We're sorry, but the person you are trying to reach has been disconnected, _spoke a disembodied male voice.

Was his brother all right?

Wait. Disconnected? Was that a voice? As in, an intercept message? What the shell! Donnie had built the shellcell himself, and he knew for a fact that it wasn't connected to anything but other shellcells. He had his own method for piggyback riding on satellites when it needed to call someplace else, and it was only when connected to a commercially built cell phone or telephone that he would hear an intercept message.

That meant that his brother was _not _calling from a shellcell, even if his caller ID said so.

So what was going on?

In exasperation, Donnie threw his shellcell across the room. But he still made sure it landed safely on the bed.


	7. Karai

_Happy Easter! Christus Resurrexit! (Which means, Christ is Risen!) Here is an Easter present for you. :D_

CHAPTER SEVEN

The next several hours passed as a blur for Donatello. The car Raph ordered came, brought Donnie to a new hotel in the heart of New York-the lockdown had been lifted soon after Don and Raph had talked on the phone-and left. Donnie, who had been plotting the entire trip in the backseat of the car, ate some food he had brought with him and snuck out of the hotel into Foot headquarters. Even though Raph hadn't seemed to want him to put the plan in motion right away, Donnie couldn't go to sleep in an empty hotel room without first doing _something_ to get his brothers back.

It wasn't like he wanted to get caught right away. Donnie only wanted to find out where his brothers were, and to print out the plans to Bishop's building.

In retrospect, it probably wasn't a good idea to rush into things so quickly. And apparently, he didn't think things through well enough.

For instance, he didn't realize that a key part of his plan involved entering a building full of dangerous enemies. Enemies that included Karai, for example.

"Tell me again," Karai said, with deadly concentration, "Why were you caught in the security room messing with the printer?"

Donnie sighed, gazing down at the handcuffs on his wrists and feet.

"I already told you," he replied, "It was out of paper."

"You were perhaps adding some device to it, to sabotage the building?"

"No," said Donnie, "I was only putting in some more paper."

"Come now, Donatello." Karai said, "Did you not come here to destroy this building?"

"No," said Donnie, "I came to print out a piece of paper!"

"Mistress Karai," said the voice of a Foot soldier near the door, "The Turtle appears to speak the truth. We found no evidence of sabotage in the printer, but we _did _find that he canceled a recent print job."

"Interesting," Karai responded, "Donatello, what were you printing?"

"I only came for information to find my brothers." Donnie said.

"I see," said Karai, raising her eyebrow, "You do not know where they are?"

Donnie gave her a 'look.'

"I know where they are," he said, looking back down to his handcuffs again, "But not the rooms where they are being held."

"And what would you give me for this information?" Karai asked.

"How do I know you have it?" Donnie responded, looking up at her sharply.

Karai smiled, a one-sided smile. "I have my spies within Agent Bishop's stronghold," she responded, "I knew they were captured before the city was locked down. My men know where two of your brothers are, but not the third. What will you give me for the knowledge of their whereabouts?"

Donnie paused, trying to reason through what was going on. Unless it was common knowledge that Raphael was being held separately from Leo and Mikey, she was probably telling the truth.

He thought quickly. What could he give Karai that wouldn't come back to hurt him and his family?

"How do I know you will let me go?" Donnie asked.

"What use are you to me here?" Karai responded, "If you are anything like your brother Leonardo, you will keep your promises. If I let you go, you _will _return."

Hm. If Karai was so willing to let him go, then she definitely wanted him to retrieve something for her. She must have something particular in mind.

"What do you want, Karai?" he asked bluntly.

Way to go, Donatello, he told himself. That was _very _subtle.

"You and your brothers are in possession of a certain, famous sword." Karai began.

Donnie immediately knew where this was going. And he knew exactly which sword she meant.

"You can have it," he said, hoping Leo wouldn't be too mad at him. It was a small price to pay, after all, "On three conditions."

Karai said nothing, but Donnie knew she was listening.

"The first condition," said Donatello, "Is that you tell me _everything_ you know about where my brothers are. Room number, floor plans, security, everything."

"Done." said Karai, "Continue."

"The second condition is that you let me use the printer." Donnie said.

He wasn't stupid enough to rely completely on the information the Foot gave him. Printing out the blueprints Raph sent him, which included the floor plans and security, would ensure that the information was accurate.

"Granted," Karai said, "And the third condition?"

Donnie smiled.

"No one is never to know of this encounter. I was never here."

"I understand," said Karai, "You do not want Bishop to know that you have returned. Very well, I accept all of your conditions. Release the Turtle," she told the ninja behind her, "I will give you the information in return for the sword. Remember your bargain; do not fail to retrieve your brothers or you will be breaking a promise."

"Understood," said Donatello, watching as the ninja untied him.

"Now," said Karai, "My men will retrieve the information you desire. While you wait, I will show you to the printer."

It was a very awkward twenty minutes later that Donatello finally left Foot headquarters, with Karai all but waving at his departure. When he was nearly out of sight, Donnie looked back at her. She was still there watching him leave, hands on her hips, as he left with a nice portfolio containing a copy of almost everything the Foot had on Bishop's headquarters.

Karai must have really wanted that ancient sword.

Suddenly Donnie stopped on the next roof, almost exactly half-way to the hotel.

"Shell," he said, realization hitting him in the face, "Did I really just sneak into Foot headquarters to _print out a piece of paper_?"

* * *

Back in the hotel room, Donatello paced the floor. Blueprints and information littered the bed, while strategies littered the trashcan. He knew that the only way he could afford to get into the building was by using a non-Don strategy, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what to do. It wasn't enough to say that he should do what Raph would do, because he had no idea how to safely burst through the front door without drawing Bishop's attention.

Donnie sighed, then resumed his thought process.

"I'd _like _to talk to Raph," he said aloud, "But he's probably asleep right now, and I can't call him anyway because he isn't calling from his shellcell. I'd go to Sensei, but I'm positive Bishop has rigged the sewers with alarms by now."

He frowned, hoping Sensei was alright. He was probably fine, but he hoped he wasn't too worried about his sons.

"But what am I going to do?" he asked himself, "I know I'm infiltrating Bishop's building. I just don't know where and when. Maybe when I get Leo and Mikey, they'll know where Raph is. And how he's been able to do all those things he's been doing."

Donnie shook his head, trying to momentarily evacuate the thought from his mind. It was driving him crazy how Raph had been able to know what was going on. How he kept calling Don with the caller-ID saying _Raphael_, even though Donnie had no idea what number he was calling from. How-

"Alright, focus," he said, shaking the thoughts from his head, "Bishop would be on the trail again soon. The man is an expert-his name is _Bishop_, he's got a _chess piece_ for his last name. So it will have to be soon, before he realizes I'm not up at the Farmhouse."

Donnie paused, his hand on his chin.

Although he hated not going in with a plan, he realized that the only way he could successfully infiltrate the building was to be unpredictable. And the best way to do that was to make decisions without thinking about them. Just like Raphael. So his strategy, then, was to be unpredictable. Of course, Donnie completely forgot about the many times when that strategy had failed for his red-masked brother.

"So," said Donnie aloud to himself, "Here is my first act of unpredictability: I'm going in tonight."

It seemed reasonable. Go in while he had the advantage. He had the blueprints, and as of the latest news report Bishop was still looking for him up north somewhere. Of course, he would not have the guidance of his brother Raphael, who was probably asleep in a cell somewhere. But Raph had advised him to act Raph-like, so how could he argue when Donnie performed the classic go-in-as-soon-as-possible routine?

At least, this was how Donatello justified it. He smiled, gathered the information he needed, and was out the window as soon as he turned off the lights.

It did not take long for him to reach Bishop's place. There was a structurally weak window on the second floor, so that was going to be his mode of entry. He carefully jumped to it from the next building, made certain he was not seen, proceeded to test the window, stopped to make certain he was not seen, proceeded to break the window-

Something small landed in the wall, a few centimeters away from hitting his arm. Donnie took one look at it and let go of his grip on the building, falling to the ground as the small device exploded and the window was obliterated.

Alert, Donnie crouched down on the ground as he faced his attacker. The enemy stepped out of the shadows unafraid, no weapon in hand.

Donnie gasped.

It was the exo-suit. Shell, this was bad.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be with Bishop," Donnie commented.

The man in the armor chose not to respond, instead raising his arm. Before Donnie could react, two more exploding devices were lodged in the wall behind him, both just barely missing his head. Quickly, Donnie moved. He dodged the blast radius, partly because the man in exo-suit tackled him to the ground. The two rolled, and Don caught a glimpse of something shining before his eyes. He moved his head fast enough to witness a sword driving itself into the ground next to him.

With a cry Donnie pushed back against on the suit. He wasn't going down without a fight.

The guy in the suit chose to get up off the ground, possibly because this fight was all too easy for him and he wanted more of a challenge. Donnie jumped up as well, and finally had time to grab his bo staff from his back.

Instantly, the man in the suit attacked with a punch. Donnie only just stopped him with the staff when the exo-suit attacked again, this time by throwing daggers. Barely dodging the daggers at such close proximity to their source, Donatello attempted to punch the suit in the face.

"Ouch!" he shouted, nearly dropping his staff as he clutched the injured hand. He wasn't going to try _that_ again.

As if in amusement at Don's reaction, the suit didn't bother to hit Donnie while he briefly shook his arm. As soon as Donnie realized that the enemy was waiting for him he resumed a defensive stance. That was the moment the suit chose to punch Donatello in the gut, sending him several feet in the air and five feet backwards.

The wind was blown out of him, but Donnie was relatively unharmed. He stood up, although not as quickly as he would have done so a few minutes prior.

The two circled one another, searching for a weakness. Being a mechanical engineer, Donnie knew what he was looking for. The suit was strong, so he would be unable to win a battle based on strength. It was also protected, made from what appeared to be Utrom technology. Apparently it was powered by a method of perpetual energy flow. Still, it must have a weakness.

He smiled when he found it.

As if that smile was a signal, the suit attacked. But that was just what Donatello had hoped would occur.

With a few wide swipes of his staff, he disrupted the energy flow throughout the suit by tampering with the flow of the biomechanical neurons. He tapped the legs first, then the arms, and finally the head. Effectively, he blinded the suit.

It would only last for a few minutes, if he was lucky. His brothers' rescue would have to wait.

Donnie turned to leave, when he realized something. Bishop had sent the exo-suit out after him. That meant that, as soon as the thing rebooted, Bishop would be notified of his presence. And that, in turn, meant that he would have no further opportunity to enter the building. The entire operation could be permanently compromised, because Bishop would be waiting for him.

He quickly glanced at the cyborg, which was still frozen in place. He then turned towards the building.

"Shell," he said to himself, "I just _had _to come here without first talking to Raph, didn't I?"

With seemingly no other reasonable choice in sight, Don made a decision that was against every fiber of his strategical being. He knew where two of his brothers were. If he could safely get them out of there, then together the three of them could come back to find Raph-hopefully before Bishop realized that his brother had been helping him out. He just had to rescue the others before the exo-suit regained power.

And so he ran up the wall and entered the building, using the gaping hole where the window had once stood as his entrance. What Donnie did not notice was that as soon as he entered the building, the fingers on the suit's left hand twitched.

And inside the building, as Donnie avoided the security traps and neared the cell reported to contain his brothers, he suddenly realized that all of the chaos outside, which included an obliterated window, had somehow failed to set off any of the building's alarms.

That wasn't like Bishop. The window should have sent off every alarm known to be in existence.

Was it only a coincidence, or could he be heading into a trap?

* * *

In a clearing in the middle of the woods, somewhere just slightly north of Casey's Grandmother's Farmhouse, half a dozen people were setting up camp. At least, that was what they should have been doing. In reality, they were all listening.

"Talk to me," Bishop said into his cell phone, fury evident in the tone of his voice, "About a minute ago several perimeter alarms at the main base went off, followed by a few building security alarms. I want information."

The man and the woman closest to Bishop looked at one another. No one was able to hear what was being said on the other end of the phone, but whenever Bishop spoke that way to anyone it meant only two things: 'trouble' and 'demotion.' A few people started secretly making bets on which one it would be. Loser had to eat what they brought for dinner.

"Are you certain?" Bishop asked, his voice skeptical, "That equipment is not faulty. And for so many to go off at once is unprecedented."

One of the lackeys rolled her eyes, while the other smiled mischievously. Someone was in _big _trouble. And also stupid, since everyone knew that in front of Bishop you couldn't get away with blaming the equipment for the person's mistake.

Now all that was needed to complete this classic scenario was for Bishop to say…

"Very well," said Bishop, "Continue with your work."

He hung up the phone.

Bishop's people looked at each other. What had just happened? Someone had actually escaped the wrath of Bishop?

"Shall we return home, sir?" someone asked his superior, hoping the answer would tell them whether the person Bishop had called was actually in trouble.

"No," Bishop said, "Before we left I programmed the exo-suit to guard the building perimeter, so our presence there is unnecessary. It is more important that we continue our search for Donatello here. If we do not pick up his trail within the next few days, it might take years to find him."

"With all due respect, sir, out of curiosity, why did we leave the suit behind?" someone asked, "We all know it can track the last turtle better than any of us."

Bishop picked up his sunglasses and positioned them on his face.

"It was better suited there," he responded, allowing a small smile to snake his features.


	8. Bishop Lied

_Really, really wanted to update sooner, but had to work on this extremely long paper and then give a presentation on it. And now I'm done! So I'm really happy. :D Wanted to give you awesome readers an update about the delay, but that would most likely have meant an author's note, and aside from_ _being against the rules those are pretty unfair. You think you're getting a new chapter and you aren't. So, sorry for the wait. Anyway, the story returns!_

CHAPTER EIGHT

Donnie raced down the hallway, glancing down at his map and trying with all his will to ignore the alarming fact that no one was coming to investigate the "renovations" that had destroyed the window.

He was starting to regret coming to the building at all. If he hadn't tried being Raph, he wouldn't have run into the exo-suit, and he wouldn't have felt compelled to rescue his brothers right away.

"Alright, down this hallway," Don said to himself, turning left. This hallway was darker than the first one. It was as if someone had turned off the electricity in this whole section of the building.

As he ran down the new hallway, Don began reaching for the doors. He slid to a stop in front of the fifth one and fiddled with the electronic lock for a long time-about ten seconds-before he finally cracked the complicated code and opened the door.

"Dude, it's in the middle of the night!" Mikey complained, sounding fairly groggy.

"What do you want, Bishop?" Leo asked, sounding wide awake.

"To find the light switch," Donnie said, reaching along the inside wall.

"Donnie?" Leo asked, "Is that you?"

"Of course it's me. Who else would it be?" Donnie said, finding the light switch.

The other two turtles cried out in surprise as Donnie switched on the light. The room was cold, and the turtles in it looked tired, but overall Donatello was pleased to note that they seemed to be in good health.

"Donnie," said Mikey, watching Don come up to examine the chain linking him to the wall, "How'd you get here?"

"I'll explain everything later," said Donnie, "Leo, do you know where the keys are?"

"Just outside the door, third hook on the right." Leo said.

Mikey shot Leo a strange look, silently asking his brother how he knew that information. Leo didn't answer, but Donnie left the room and returned with the keys mere seconds later.

"Come on, we've got to get out of here," Donnie said, unlocking Leo first, "I ran into Bishop's exo-suit outside, and disrupting its neural system won't hold it back for long. Plus, we've got to find Raph. Do you guys know where he is?"

"No," said Leo, rubbing his hands that were finally free of the chains, "Bishop wouldn't tell us. So what's the plan, Don?"

"The plan? Find Raph and get out." Donnie said, unlocking Mikey next.

"That's it?" Mikey asked, rubbing his hands just like Leo had done, "Don't you usually come up with more complicated stuff than that?"

"That's just what Bishop was looking for," Donnie said, leading them out the door, "I had to find you guys and get in here without using computers or any technology."

"What?" Leo asked, "How did you do _that_?"

"And how'd you print off that map?" Mikey asked, pointing to the forgotten map in Donnie's hands.

"Um, I kinda had help," said Don, folding up the map and placing it in his belt, "And Leo, before I forget, I kinda made a deal with Karai."

"What kind of deal?" Leo asked, narrowing his eyes.

"She knew what room you were in," Donnie said, "She told me everything she knew in return for…"

"For what?" Leo asked. His eyes widened. "Not…oh no. Please, Donnie, _tell _me it wasn't the sword!"

"It was the sword." Donnie said abruptly.

"Donatello! How _could _you?" Leo asked, "You _know _how important that swo-"

"Um, guys, don't we have to hurry or something?" Mikey interrupted.

"Mikey's right," Donnie said, "We have to get out of here before-"

But Donnie was rudely interrupted as a dart dug itself into the wall behind him, just barely missed his face.

Turning around, all three turtles gasped.

"Before that," Donnie said.

At the other end of the hallway, the cyborg was slowly starting to walk towards them.

"You guys search the building for Raph," Leo said, "I'll hold him off!"

"Leo, wait!" Donnie said, "You don't have your weapons!"

Another dart shot through the air, once again just barely missing Donnie's face. He gasped, and the turtles all started running away from the maniac.

"What now?" Don asked Leo.

"We find a way out," Leo said, leading the way, "We regroup, find where they're keeping Raph, and come back."

"No one knows where he's being kept," Donnie said, "Not even Karai. Shell, _Raph _won't even tell me."

"What do you mean by that?" Mikey asked, "Have you talked to Raph?"

"Don, where is the way out?" Leo interrupted.

"I came in through a window, but to get there we'd have to get past the suit," Don said.

Don would have answered Mikey's question, but another dart shot by, just barely missing his arm.

"We have to hurry," Leo said, "This way!"

They raced towards a stairwell marked "exit," which ensured temporary freedom. Unfortunately, their freedom was cut short when a small bomb blasted the entrance, making it impassable.

"On second thought," Leo said, "This way!"

He continued them down the hallway, until a barrage of bullets from behind caused the roof just in front of them to cave into the hallway.

"The door!" Donnie , who was closest, grabbed at the nearest door. Surprisingly, it opened, and all three turtles burst into the room.

"Just great," said Leo, closing the door behind him, "It's a closet."

"These look familiar though," Mikey said, picking up Leo's swords off a bookshelf.

"My swords!" Leo said, taking them from Mikey.

"And your nunchucks, Mikey," Don said, handing his brother his weapons.

"My babies! I missed you," Mikey said, kissing his weapons.

"At least we'll have some kind of defense," Don said, "The suit will be here any second."

"Yeah, what's taking it so long? It looked faster earlier," Mikey said.

"That guard practically herded us here," Leo said, "He probably trapped us here on purpose to ambush us."

"With our weapons?" Mikey asked, "Doesn't that give us an advantage?"

"Unfortunately, even with our weapons it's still far too strong." Donnie paused. "Wait. Leo, did you just say 'he'?"

"Yeah. There's a guy in the suit, Donnie, Bishop said so." Mikey said, twirling his weapons.

"That doesn't make sense," Donnie said.

"What doesn't make sense?" Leo asked.

But before Don could answer, a fist punched through the door.

"Get back, Leo!" Mikey shouted.

Leo stepped back just as the door fell apart-on the cyborg. The suit stepped back, stumbling with the weight of the door. The metallic fist and a pair of feet were all that Leo, Don and Mikey could see of the exo-suit, the rest was blocked by the wooden door.

Taking advantage of the situation, all three turtles burst from the room into the hallway and began running. Donnie took the lead, heading them back towards the window that might be their only exit. A few bullets and darts hit the walls beside them, alerting them all to the fact that the enemy was up and moving again.

"Hurry, Donnie!" Leo shouted.

Another dart shot past them, barely missed hitting Donnie's hand.

"Um, guys," Mikey said, "Is it just me, or is that guy only targeting Don?"

"I'm guessing it was programmed only for me," Don said, avoiding another dart.

"You know," said Mikey, "That guy has really bad aim."

"Not the time Mikey," Leo said, not panting at all as he ran, "Don! Which way is out?"

"The window is just ahead," Donnie said, turning around the corner.

The three turtles raced through the hallway, running along the side of the walls every so often to try to arrive at their destination faster. At some point they lost their pursuer. Either that, or the suit was toying with them.

"That was my way in," Don said, pointing to the window.

"You blew up the window to get in the building? Cool!" Mikey said.

"Not exactly your style, but it works," Leo said.

They ran towards the window, intent on escaping before the cyborg could catch up to them. That is, until Donnie realized something.

"Wait!" Donnie said, stopping them with his arms just before they could jump out the window, "Something's wrong!"

"Huh?" Mikey asked.

"Don," said Leo.

"No, think about it," Donnie said, "If the suit has a person in it, why hasn't he hit us yet?"

"What are you talking about?" Leo asked.

"It's just a program," Donnie said, "Don't you see? It's not calibrated right, so it keeps missing us when it shoots."

"Don, Bishop said that one of his pals was in that suit," Mikey said.

"Bishop lied," Donnie said, "If that suit was one of Bishop's men, it wouldn't be missing us when it shoots. Think about it. Why would one of Bishop's people miss? You two get out of here, and I'll lead him off our trail. Alright?"

"There's no way we're leaving you here," Leo said.

"Do you want to get out of here before Bishop finds us?" Donnie asked, "Don't worry; I'll meet up with you later. That thing is only programmed to go after me, so it will be easy for me to lead it away from you."

"Sorry Don," Mikey said, "We're not going without you."

"Yes, you are," Donnie said, frowning.

At that moment, the suit came into view again.

"Sorry Don," Leo said, brandishing his swords, "Looks like no one is leaving after all!"

The suit raised its arms, and the three turtles tensed.

"Anybody got any bright ideas?" Leo asked.

"Ummm, don't get shot?" Mikey answered.

The suit surged forward, and Leo was the first to defend. However, the suit seemed to anticipate his every move. And after the first few seconds, Leo realized how strong the armor was.

"Um, guys, I might not be able to hold him off for long," Leo said, working his swords harder.

Suddenly, Donnie's shellcell rang.

"Man, April has some sense of timing," Mikey said, jumping in to help Leo.

"It's not April," Donnie said, answering the phone, "Bad timing Raph, can I call you back?"

"Raph?" Leo asked, frowning as his sword caused too little damage to the special armor. "Is that Raphael? Try to find out where he's being held, Donnie."

"Wasn't Raph's shellcell destroyed when he was captured, like ours were?" Mikey asked, attacking the suit from behind.

_"Listen Donnie," _Raph said over the phone, _"Ya gotta listen to me, and do exactly as I say, alright?"_

"Um, sure," Donnie said, "But I'm not at the Hotel right now."

Leo and Mikey paused the battle to briefly look at each other. They could only hear Donnie's part of the conversation.

"Hotel? What Hotel?" Mikey asked. But the suit grabbed him by the foot and swung him across the room, so his question would have to wait.

_"I know that," _Raph said, answering Donnie, _"And by the way, sneaking in like that was real stupid of you. How are ya planning to get everyone out?"_

"I wasn't! I was just taking your advice," Donnie said.

_"Yeah, but not like that!"_ Raph practically shouted.

"Well how else was I supposed to take it?" Donnie asked, "You know what, don't answer that. I'm kinda in the middle of something. Call me in a few minutes, okay?"

_"Don't hang up! It's important,"_ Raph said.

"Raph," said Donnie, "Tell me what's happening."

_"Can't."_

"Why not?" Donnie asked, watching the suit battle his brothers. Mikey was back in the battle, trying to attack the head, and Leo had just lost one of his swords to the other end of the room.

_"Can't tell you that either."_

"Not helping, Raph."

_"I've been tryin'!"_ Raph said, sounding frustrated, _"It won't come out. I just can't say it."_

"O-kay," said Donnie, watching as Leo lost his other sword and began fighting with hand-to-hand combat, "What do you want me to do?"

_"I need ya to take care of something,"_ Raph said, _"Then stop the sss-uh, the thing by freezing it like ya did earlier."_

"The…what?" Donnie asked, "Are you talking about the exo-suit?"

How did his brother know how he had defeated the suit?

_"Yeah, that,"_ said Raph, _"Listen, I need ya to be quick alright?"_

"Alright. But what do you want me to do?" Donnie asked.

_"Take care of this,"_ said Raph, _"it might help."_

"This?" Donnie asked.

_"Yeah, _this_. Catch."_ said Raph.

The exo-suit broke its left arm free from Leo's hold and threw something at Donnie. Reflexively, Donnie caught it. It was a small piece of machinery, and it fit right into his hand.

He stared at the technology, and then at the exo-suit in front of him that his brothers were fighting. And Donnie's eyes went wide.


	9. Hidden Brother

_Praying for the people in Boston._

CHAPTER NINE

"Donatello! A little help over here would be nice!"

"Jump in any day now, bro!"

_"Donnie, snap out of it!" _

Donnie snapped back to attention at the sound of Raph's voice. His brothers were fighting…Raph…and he was now holding what seemed to be some very advanced technological equipment. At least, that's what he concluded from a single glance.

Wait, Raph? He picked up the shellcell, which he had nearly forgotten in his mad grab for the flying piece of technology.

"Raph, wha-" he began, speaking into the shellcell.

_"Don't. Talk about it."_ Raph said, sounding deadly serious,_ "Don't even tell them. Just freeze the sss…the armo…this stupid _thing_ like ya did a short while ago, and get outta here!"_

Donnie took a deep breath and closed his eyes, allowing himself a few seconds to digest information and formulate a plan.

_"Hurry up, I can't hold it off much longer!" _Raph insisted.

Donnie opened his eyes, swung his bo staff, and attacked the exo-suit. Leo saw him coming and pulled away, yanking Mikey with him. Within seconds, Don had disabled the suit just as he had done shortly before he rescued two of his brothers. Raphael made no attempt to block his attacks.

"What was _that_?" Leo asked, panting as he stared at their now-harmless opponent.

"I…kinda inhibited his movement by blocking the flow of the suit's biomechanical neurons," Donnie said.

"So you froze him," Leo said.

"Good work Don," Mikey said, pausing for breath, "Only next time, do it sooner, alright?"

Donnie didn't answer, but instead turned towards the suit.

"Um, no," Leo said, placing a hand on Donnie's shoulder, "Play with the nice technology some other time, Don. That paralysis is only temporary, right? So that thing is going to wake up any minute, and so we shouldbe getting out of here."

Leo and Mikey turned to jump out of the blown-out window, but Don didn't join them. In fact, he took a step backwards towards his frozen brother.

"Wait guys," said Donnie, "We can't leave-ow! Since when are there mosquitoes here?"

"Leo, is he okay?" Mikey asked, running back to intrude into Donnie's personal space, "He looks kinda pale."

"He'll be fine, he's just dazed," Leo said, "Donnie, it's over. You got him. Now let's get out of here, alright?"

"Hang on," said Donnie, pointing towards the cyborg with the hand containing the shellcell, "We have to take him with us."

"What?" Leo asked, genuinely confused.

"Dude, did you hit your head or something?" Mikey asked, "That's the guard, Donnie."

"Um, guys," Donnie said, rubbing nervously at his new mosquito bite, "You see…"

"What's that sound?" Leo asked.

The other ninjas quieted immediately, until they realized that the small noise was coming out of the shellcell in Donnie's hand.

It was a very faint voice. Vaguely, it seemed to ask for Leo. So of course, Leo took the phone out of Donnie's hand and answered it.

"Raph?" he asked, "Where are you?"

"Leo, Raph is-" Donnie began.

"What?" Leo asked, looking up with surprise towards the suit behind Donnie. There were several more seconds of silence where Raph must have been speaking before he spoke again.

"Thanks for letting me know, Raph. How stable is your shellcell connection?...Great. We'll call you as soon as we're safe."

"Leo, what did he say?" Mikey said as Leo put the shellcell back in his own belt, forgetting that it belonged to Donnie.

"We have to get out of here fast," Leo said absentmindedly, as if he had never heard Mikey's question, "Mikey, head on out."

"Leo, how are we going to carry him?" Donnie asked, gesturing towards the suit behind him.

"We're not," Leo said, grabbing Donnie's hand, "Come with me right now, we're getting out of here."

"Wait, what?" Donnie asked, resisting the pull.

Leo looked at Donnie with concern. Without taking his eyes off Donnie, he addressed his other brother. "Mikey, move it! We'll be right behind you."

Mikey nodded and disappeared out the window.

Suddenly, Leo bent down and…picked up Donnie. He threw him over his shoulder, hightailed it to the window, jumped out the building, and then…continued running. He overtook Mikey and began to lead the way, apparently sure of where he was going.

"Leo, wait!" Donnie said, "You're leaving Raph behind!"

"He knows we'll come back for him," Leo said, "Once we find out where he's being held."

Suddenly it all made sense. Raph hadn't told Leo where he was. When he thought Leo was looking towards Raph, he was actually looking…at Donnie.

Why hadn't Raph told Leo where he was?

"Leo," Donnie said, slightly fighting against his brother's grasp.

"Don't you even dare," Leo said darkly, "Hang tight until we get to the hotel. Raph told me which one, and I'm guessing you left the window open. We'll get you there, Don, just relax."

"I can walk just fine, Leo," Donnie said.

"Not in your condition." Leo said.

"What condition?" Donnie asked.

"Raphael said he has access to a master computer," Leo explained, "Remember how the guard was seeking you out? Apparently, the computer registered that you've been shot."

"Donnie was shot?" Mikey asked, running alongside the both of them.

"No, Mikey. I haven't been _shot_." Donnie said, "Now put me down, Leo!"

"Not that kind," Leo said, "The kind that only knocks you out."

"Gee, I sure don't _feel_ unconscious," Donnie said sarcastically, "And I think I'd notice if I was hit, Leo."

"It could take a while, Donnie," Leo said, "And it could be something as small as a mosquito bite."

"Put me down, Leo! I'm fine," Donnie said. He used his bo staff to grab something as Leo ran past it, and yanked himself out of his brother's grasp. He found himself standing on his own two feet, with an irritated older brother a few feet away. Mikey stopped running as well, glancing from one brother to the other in anticipation of what would happen next.

"See, Leo?" Donnie said. He took a step forward, and the world reeled just slightly. He threw up a hand to his head to stop the motion. "Whoa…"

"See, Don?" Leo asked, smiling as he once more grabbed his brother and threw him over his shoulder.

Suddenly, the world began to become tipsy.

"Leo," Donnie said, grabbing onto the rim of his brother's shell.

"Almost there, Donnie," Leo said, sounding sympathetic, "Then you can rest. He'll be fine, Mikey."

Don would have said something else, but he forgot what it was. He decided to be content watching the buildings and streets that he could see retreating away from him. At some point, the lines of reality blurred, and he the next thing he knew, he was waking up on his hotel bed with a giant headache-and Mikey was for some unknown reason doing a backflip over the bed.

* * *

Bishop answered the phone.

"Talk to me, Raphael." He said.

Several minutes passed. As he listened, Bishop's fists tightened. Nonetheless, he did not interrupt once. He waited until the full report had been given.

"So your brothers somehow escaped my impenetrable prison, without so much as a single alarm?" Bishop said, "I'm not stupid, Raphael. Don't think I can't see what you've done. My technicians will review the suit and remove every loophole. They will also add your other two brothers to the suit's database. And here is just a little warning, Raphael: your new assignment will be to track them down and bring them back, dead or alive. I will continue searching for Donatello here, and as soon as I find him…you know what will happen next."

Calmly, Bishop hung up the phone and walked out the door.

* * *

"Oh, hi Donnie! Leo, look who's awake!" Mikey smiled, looking at his semi-conscious brother.

"Were you just…was that a backflip? Over my bed?" Donnie asked, rubbing his headache.

"Um, yeah. This room is kinda small, so I needed to train _somehow_, right? It was either that or run around town screaming about how glad I am to be free from Bishop, but Leo suggested a movie instead."

"And where is the movie?" Donnie asked, really confused.

"We were waiting for you to wake up first," Mikey said, then he rapidly switched gears. "Isn't this cool? It's our first time _staying _at a hotel! Raph is awesome! Although he won't tell Leo how he paid for it."

"At last, you're awake, Donnie." Leo said, walking up to them with Don's shellcell in his hand, "How do you feel?"

"Uh…"

"Good." Leo said, sitting on the edge of the bed and handing Don the cell, "Listen, I've been on the phone with Raph. He says he has something really important to tell you, Donnie. And he says it can't wait."

Donnie took the phone and got up out of bed.

"Raph?" he said.

_"Donnie,"_ Raph said, _"Sorry I had ta knock you out like that, bro. Listen, ya can't tell them where I am."_

"Why not?" Donnie asked.

_"It won't let me tell ya, but trust me on this. It's important, alright?"_

"Raph-"

_"Listen, I already told this to Leo, but the search for you guys is back on, big time. Stay hidden."_

"And what about-"

_"I'll be fine, Donnie."_ Raph said, sounding resigned.

"What can I do?" Donnie asked.

_"Not much," _Raph said, _"If anyone finds out you know where I am, we'll _all_ be in trouble. But ya can find out more by examining that thing I gave ya."_

"Got it," Donnie said. He suddenly realized that the piece of technology Raph threw to him might be the key to unlocking the exo-suit.

_"And another thing,"_ Raph said, _"Tonight from midnight until one am the ssss-the _thing's_ computer will be out for...repairs. Meet me then on the roof of the building on the corner of Eastman and Laird."_

"Will do," Donnie said.

_"And don't tell anyone. Not even Leo."_

There was a small click, and Donnie realized that Raph had hung up the phone.

"What did he say?" Leo asked as Donnie closed his phone.

"He wants us to stay hidden," Donnie said, meeting Leo's eyes, "Bishop's after us big time."

Leo raised an eyebrow. He could tell that Donnie wasn't telling him everything.

"Alright," Leo said, "What did he ask you to do?"

Donnie reached into his belt and pulled out the strange piece of machinery.

"For starters, he wants me to examine this." Donatello said, holding the strange device up to the light.


	10. New Plan

_Finally, an update! Heh heh, still alive. :P_

CHAPTER TEN

Leonardo groaned, placing his hand over his aching head. He must have fallen asleep. Wait, that was bad. What if Mikey fell asleep too? What if Bishop did something to them while they were asleep?

Leo jumped up into a fighting stance, mindful of the distance that the chains would allow. But there was something wrong with his footing; the ground was unstable, and he seemed to misjudge the distance of the chains. As a result he found himself falling forwards onto the ground. But the unstable ground only bounced back and threw him further down, and suddenly he found himself face-down on a hard floor.

Mikey burst into laughter.

"It's about time you woke up," Leo heard Mikey say.

Leo groaned, and opened his eyes again. This time he took more careful note of his surroundings.

He was in the hotel room, and apparently had just fallen off the bed. Mikey was smiling at him from his spot on the other bed, and had apparently just been watching a television show. The shifting light of the tv made the only light in the room; night had fallen, and no other lights were turned on.

Leo picked himself off the floor and rubbed his head.

"Um, how long was I asleep?" he asked.

"I dunno, a couple hours," Mikey said, turning back to the tv, "Donnie said to let you sleep."

Leo glanced at the alarm clock beside the bed. "It's that late?" he asked, rubbing his aching head, "How could I have slept that long?"

"I dunno," Mikey said, already engrossed in his show, "But I've been keeping an eye on things here, ya know? So it's alright. Bishop hasn't found us yet, and we lost the trail of that robot guard a long time ago. So relax, Leo! We're in a hotel room, and we're safe now."

"All the same, I think I'll take over guarding the room," Leo said, "Where's Donnie?"

"Uh," said Mikey, thinking, "I think he left a while ago."

"He _what_?" Leo asked.

Mikey turned towards him, surprised, "Well, after he asked me to guard the room he kinda disappeared. I thought he went out for some fresh air or something."

Leo moved quickly, scouring every inch of the hotel room-the bathroom, closets, kitchenette…but there was no Donnie.

"This can't be happening," Leo said, "Doesn't he know how stupid it is to leave alone? Mikey, when did he leave?"

"Uh," Mikey said, staring at the clock, "maybe around midnight?"

Leo groaned, and grabbed his katanas.

"Come on," he said, "We have to go look for him before he gets into trouble."

"Aw, can't we wait until the show is over?" Mikey asked.

Leo shot his brother a stern look, and Mikey reluctantly grabbed his nunchucks.

* * *

Bishop frowned as he looked at the intelligence report.

"This isn't right," he said to himself. He double checked the report, and reviewed the source material. With a scowl he threw the report aside and walked outside the tent.

Immediately everyone turned their attention to him.

"Pack everything up," he commanded, "We're going back to headquarters."

Eyes betrayed their surprise, but no one questioned him. Instead, everyone immediately began running to perform the task he had assigned.

"Sir," one man asked, "Shall some of us continue to search for DOnatello here in the countryside?"

"There is no need. We will return for him later." Bishop said.

That was enough for his lackey, but Bishop was far from happy. He knew that by the time they returned, the turtle would have escaped. It might take years to find him again, but this matter needed to be taken care of immediately. And he needed all of his troops for _this_ mission.

* * *

Donatello crouched down in the corner of the roof, waiting. It had been harder than he thought to sneak out of the hotel room. Leo had decided to stand guard in case someone came after them during the night, and had announced that he would remain awake all night just in case. In the end, Donatello resorted to sneaking a little something from his belt into his brother's drink.

As soon as Leo was asleep he convinced Mikey that Leo had been straining himself lately, and to heroically spend the night awake in his sleeping brother's absence-keeping himself occupied with television, of course. Slipping past Mikey had been a breeze. Don would have been worried about an enemy sneaking up on the television watcher, but he knew that Mikey was still capable of keeping an eye on the hotel room even when he was most engrossed in his shows.

Donatello banished all these thoughts from his mind as the exo-suit landed on the roof. At the same time, his shellcell rang.

"Um, Raph?" Donnie said, "You don't have to talk through the phone anymore. It's just us."

There was no answer from the suit, but Raph's arms roughly gestured towards the ringing phone and he stomped his foot impatiently. It was the first time Donnie had seen the suit move the way that Raph would move.

Confused, Donnie answered the phone.

"This stupid thing," Raphael said through the phone, "Ain't got speakers."

"Really?" Donnie said, "Fascinating. Mind if I look closer?"

"What did you get out of the thing I gave ya?" Raph asked, eager to change the subject.

Donnie held his open shellcell in one hand and dug the small piece of machinery out of his belt.

"It's Utrom tech," he said, giving it back to his brother, "Capable of being preprogrammed and following basic orders, given the right command codes."

Donnie didn't bother to bring the phone back up to his mouth. His brother could hear him speak just fine; he only needed the cell to hear Raph's responses.

"Yeah, that sounds right," Raph said, snapping the thing into his arm.

"So this suit is the computer you've been using," Donnie said, "How were you able to access the internet? Or book the hotels? Or-"

"Look, I don't know," Raph said, "It's kinda controlled by thinking, or something. It gives me stuff by putting it in my head, and when I think of what to do, it does it."

"By 'it' you mean the suit," Donnie said.

"Yeah," said Raph, "I can't call it what it is. I don't have administrator privileges, whatever the shell _that _is, so it won't let me do everything."

"I get it," said Don, getting excited, "Bishop is blocking you from doing certain things. But he had no idea you could connect to the internet or call my shellcell, right?"

"Right," said Raph.

"But how did you set up the fake hake when I instructed you to?" Donnie asked.

"It's confusing," Raph said, sitting down on the roof, "Sometimes this thing is a lot like an earth computer, and sometimes it isn't. I was hoping you could help me out because o' that."

"Hm," said Donnie, sitting down next to Raph, "I could probably see if we could hack into the system and give you administrator privileges. What things are forbidden to you?"

Raph was silent.

"Right, you can't say them if they're forbidden," Donnie corrected, "Let me guess. You can't control yourself when you're on a mission?"

"Right," Raph said, "The thing takes over then."

"But you have some amount of control, right? I mean, you kept missing us on purpose."

"Only if I try hard not to," Raph said, "Everyone thinks it's a glitch. At least, they used to."

Donnie's eyes widened.

"Bishop knows you let us escape," he said.

"Not you," Raph said, the suit's helmet turning to his brother, "He still thinks you're up north. But yeah, he thinks I let Leo and Mikey escape. That's why he's uploading new software which will allow him more control."

"When?"

"Now," Raph said, "When it's all in, I might not be able to keep this from hurting ya."

"Then we'd better work fast to hack the suit," Donnie said, "How long do you have?"

"Until it's all in? About fifty minutes." Raph said. "And twenty-three seconds." He added.

"Then we'd better hurry," Donatello said, standing up, "I've got some equipment and notes in my lab that would help us out. Can you help me get past Bishop's traps and into the lair?"

"Yeah, sure. Piece of cake." Raph said. But he didn't move to get up at all.

"Um, Raph?" Donnie said, "We have to be going."

"Just give me a sec, will ya?" Raph snapped, "You know this is the first time I've been able to sit since he put me in this thing?"

"Do you want to stay in there or find a way out of it?" Donnie asked.

"Fine, whatever," Raph said, standing up, "Let's get back to the lair."

"When we get to the door I'll go in first," Donnie said, jumping down the side of the building. Raph followed him, surprisingly quiet despite the metal armor. "I don't want to frighten Sensei." Donnie finished.

"Fine by me," said Raph, using the suit to lift the manhole with one hand, "Let's get this over with."


	11. Administrator

_Well, it's been a while! I hope you all forgive me. I got caught up between work and...work. And also work. A special thank-you to anyone still following this story! This chapter is a little short, but the story is coming to a close, so I have to leave _some_ things for the next chapter!_

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Beyond deadly traps set by Bishop, including a cleverly disguised acidic puddle, and past several unassuming sewer rats the Lair had finally been reached; and it was empty.

"He's not here? Where is he?" Donnie asked, searching every nook and cranny.

"How should I know?" Raph said, his voice coming through the shellcell sounding slightly annoyed, "All I know is that he ain't here. The suit would know. All that's here are a few spiderwebs and some creepy things in Mikey's room."

"Well if Sensei isn't here," Donnie said, "Then where is he?"

"Beats me," said Raph, sitting on the couch, "But I know he's safe. Bishop would have used him ta threaten me if he were caught."

"Okay, that sounds right," said Donnie, thinking, "So let's just _assume_ that Sensei is somewhere safe."

"Good," said Raph, crossing his arms, "Then weren't you gonna do something about this thing stuck to my chest?"

"Oh, right!" Donnie said, "Let's get to my lab. How much time do you have?"

"Thirty minutes and seventeen seconds," Raph said.

"Perfect!" Donnie said, "I'll get my notes and we'll start the hack. This just might work."

"_Might?_"

"Just get to the lab already, Raphael!"

* * *

Bishop paced within the small aisle of the airplane. Something was happening, something just beyond his grasp. Raphael had managed to let his brothers escape through a loophole in the suit, that much was certain. The new program he was installing within the suit was supposed to prevent against further loopholes. But then there came the intelligence report. The matter it suggested was something unheard of, and he had first passed over it as an error within the system.

But there was no error in that system. There couldn't be; it was impossible.

And if what that report insinuated was correct, Bishop was in a lot of trouble.

He needed to get to Raphael fast.

Bishop growled. He could hardly afford to wait for the plane to reach its destination.

* * *

In the dark of the night, two sets of eyes watched a certain building within the city. They were both being careful to stick to the shadows; their mission meant nothing if they were caught by wandering eyes.

"I've only got two minutes, Donnie." Raphael said.

"Alright, target in sight." Donatello said, eyeing the building, "You in position, Raph?"

"Yeah," Raphael said over the phone.

"On my mark, disable the building's alarms," Donnie said, "Mark!"

"Done." Raph said, "Next?"

"Get inside and find the item," Donnie said, "I'm coming in through the roof."

"Gotcha. Hurry, Donnie. We don't have much time."

Donnie crawled over the roof and slyly entered the building. He felt really bad about sneaking around, but he knew that would take too much of their precious time to ask permission.

It took him about a minute to get into the building, but he knew that Raphael was busy using the time to find what they were looking for.

"Raph," he said, spotting the suited Raphael as soon as he landed, "Did you find it yet?"

"What, this?" Raphael asked nonchalantly, handing him a futuristic-looking tool.

"Awesome!" Donnie said, taking the strange tool and placing it against the suit, "Now all I have to do is turn this the other way, insert it in your suit, reverse the polarity, perform minute calculations and…done."

"That's it?" Raph asked.

"Not quite," Donnie said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I just stopped the upgrade from being uploaded, and bypassed Bishop's password to give you administrator privileges. You're no longer under his control, but it will take some time for me to open the suit. It's made with Utrom tech, so it should take a little longer to completely open."

"Alright, alright, I get it," Raph said, "Let's get back to the lair so you can open up this tin can. It's too bad you couldn't do this back there, ya know."

"I wish I could have," Donnie said, jumping upwards and leaping against the walls to jump out the roof. "But I couldn't finish the hack without the use of that tool."

"I gotta admit Don," Raph said, landing next to his brother, "That was our easiest forced entry into the TCRI building yet."

"Yeah, we should have had Bishop put you in that suit the last time we needed to get in," Donnie teased.

His brother gave him a playful punch.

"Hey! That hurt," Donnie said, smiling as he rubbed his arm, "Did you put the tool back?"

"No," said Raph, waving it in the air, "Are ya sure we can't bring it back tomorrow?"

"Raph," Donnie said warningly.

"Fine, fine," Raphael said, sounding bored, "I'll go put it back. Geesh, Don! Think the Utroms will forgive us for borrowing it?"

* * *

"Leo, wait up!" Mikey whispered, sneaking after his brother in the dark, "Where are we going?"

Leo stopped at waited impatiently for his brother to catch up before responding.

"We're going to the lair to find Don," Leo said.

"We can't do that! Bishop set traps there, remember? You and Donnie were just talking about that, right? How Bishop is looking all over for us?" Mikey asked.

"Then…we're going to April's," Leo said, "Bishop doesn't know about her, and that's _probably _where we'll find Don. And if not, she might know where to look for him!"

"That sounds right," Mikey said, "But let's be super careful, okay? I really don't feel like getting captured by Bishop again."

"Then think how Don will feel if _he _gets captured," Leo said, "Remember, that robot guard is still out there. It's our duty to find out where Donnie is before the guard does, or worse-before Bishop does."

There was nothing Mikey could say to add to that conversation, so both turtles moved on in silence. Within minutes they reached April's place. Leo opened the window, and entered after Mikey.

But the entire room was dark-too dark.

Mikey slowly stepped forward as the window shut behind Leo, placing them both in total darkness.

Something came at Mikey in the dark, the only sign of it being the slight _swoosh_ of air as it came forward. Leo pushed his brother aside to counter the blow with his bare hands.

Instantly Mikey and Leo braced themselves for battle. Something came at them from the left, flew over them and tripped Leo on the right. Leo jumped back to his feet and countered as best as he could, keeping his back to Mikey so that he wouldn't hit his brother by mistake. Mikey was doing the same to him, and both were straining to hear the attacks. It could have only been one ninja, or a whole battalion of ninjas, but clearly they were fighting very experienced enemies. It was very difficult for either of them to land a single blow.

Suddenly someone hit Mikey in the chest.

"Oof," he said involuntarily, doubling over.

"Wait!" April called, "Mikey, is that you?"

The light in the room turned on, and Leo found himself looking into the eyes of his Sensei and Master, who looked just as surprised as himself, and whose cane was inches away from Leo's head.

"My sons," said Master Splinter, relaxing his cane and looking very relieved, "You are safe!"

"Sensei!" Mikey said.

"Are you alright?" Leo asked, gasping for breath.

"I am fine, my sons," Splinter said, "But where are your brothers, Raphael and Donatello?"


	12. Bishop Angered

_Sorry for the long wait! Been busy lately, especially with work. Thanks to everyone who have been reading, following, reviewing and faving this story! I _thought _this was going to be the last chapter, but when writing it out I realized that there will be one or two more. Funny how stories expand themselves on you!  
_

CHAPTER TWELVE

"So, every time a mission was activated, I couldn't stop until it was done," Raph explained, running alongside Donnie with ease in his robotic suit, "But whenever I saw the words '_target acquired_' I changed the suit's measurements from inches to centimeters, and then I could miss the target _accidentally! _But it only worked if I was quick enough-"

Donnie's head spun as he tried to keep up his speed while marveling over Raph's sudden technical skills, which apparently, had all been learned through trial and error.

"…And I booked you a hotel in Tokyo before I figured out how to work the stupid website," Raph said, "I almost cancelled it but I thought, heh, why not? Could throw ol' Bishop off guard. So I booked fifteen more hotels."

"Um, Raph," said Donnie, finally spotting the roof of the hotel, "how exactly did you pay for my hotel room?"

"Not sure," said Raph, "Found it out by accident. Sometimes this Utrom suit goes faster than you think."

"Hm," said Don, wondering what his brother meant.

They finally arrived at the hotel, and Donnie carefully entered first.

To his disappointment, it was empty. The brothers were nowhere in sight.

"Just great," said Raph, coming in behind Donnie, "They probably went out looking fer ya. Want me to call them on the shellcell?"

"Not yet, they could be out in the open," Donnie said, "Oh, wait! They don't even _have _shellcells. Theirs were destroyed by Bishop. We'd better wait here until they get back."

"Sounds good to me," said Raph, heading for the closest bed, "I'm going for a quick snooze. Haven't slept in days."

Donnie sighed, and sat down on the other bed.

"Fine," he said. Suddenly he was aware that Raph was already asleep, looking strangely different as he slept inside the suit.

Don looked with interest at the small pad of paper and the pen on the hotel desk, and began thinking.

* * *

"…So you see, Master Splinter," Leo finished, accepting the tea that his Master was handing him, "We thought that Donnie would have come here to April's. And that's why we snuck in."

"Hm," said Master Splinter thoughtfully, "I have been hiding here at April's since I realized that the sewers were compromised, but I have not seen Donatello."

"I hope he's alright," said April, pouring some more tea, "We were so worried about him when they locked down the city."

"Maybe he went off to search for Raphie alone," Mikey suggested.

"That's a good possibility," Leo frowned, "But that would be very rash, since he's currently being hunted down by that evil guard. The same guard who will probably come after _us _too once Bishop learns that we've escaped."

"Yes," said Master Splinter, "But did you not tell me that Donatello aided your escape? He even went to the Foot clan and made a deal with Karai to gain information. Indeed, he has been acting _very _rash lately, and that has probably been what kept him safely out of Bishop's hands."

"And after dealing with _Karai_," April said, "Don probably assumes that he can rescue Raphael _despite_ the guard."

"Well," said Leo, "If that's why he disappeared, why wouldn't he take us with him?"

"Maybe he thinks the guard thinks he's dead, and he's the only one who can sneak past him," Mikey said, confusing everyone in the room for half a second with his amazing logic, "After all, Raph told you that the computer said Donnie'd been shot, right?"

"But that wasn't lethal, it was a tranquilizer dart," Leo said, "Donnie knew that, and so did the guard. So that brings us back to square one: why would he just leave the hotel room in the middle of the night?"

"Simple, Leonardo," Master Splinter said, "He chose to rescue your brother alone."

"Okay," said Leo, "So Donnie went to rescue Raph without us. Why leave so soon after rescuing us from Bishop?"

"Isn't that obvious?" April asked, "He probably thought you were exhausted."

"No, it's _more_ than that," said Mikey in realization, "Donnie knows something is up, and that he has to move fast."

"That still doesn't make much sense," said Leo, "How would he know something is up?"

"Perhaps Raphael told him," Master Splinter said, "You mentioned that you have had contact with your brother."

"That could be it," said April.

"Hey, if _Don _can call _Raph, _maybe we can too!" Mikey suggested.

"Master Splinter, do you still have your shellcell?" Leo asked, turning to Splinter.

"Unfortunately, I do not," he responded, "In my haste to leave the sewers, I had to leave everything behind."

"So, what can we do to help Don?" Leo asked, looking at Master Splinter.

"We wait," said Splinter firmly, "We are all still being targeted by Bishop, and it would not be wise to roam the streets until we know what we are doing and where we are going."

"And…when do we _stop _waiting?" Mikey asked.

"When it is time." said Splinter.

Leo, Mikey and April all huffed quietly with impatience.

* * *

Bishop surveyed what was visible of the city as he stepped off the plane. Which was very little, considering that he had arrived in the middle of the night.

"Status," he demanded, his hands behind his back.

"The upload should be complete by now," someone unimportant explained, "The subject should currently be waiting for you in the designated area of the command center."

"You don't know for certain?" Bishop asked.

"No sir. The cameras throughout the building have been on a continuous loop since before the prisoners escaped."

"Then get me to the command center." Bishop growled.

"Certainly, sir. The car is waiting right over here."

Bishop followed the lackey to an inconspicuous black car-a vehicle so inconspicuous and spotless, that it was almost conspicuous. Almost.

He contained his emotions for almost the entire ride to the building. In retrospect, it had been foolish to leave the entire building with only Raphael to guard it as he searched for the elusive Donatello. Then again, he certainly had not anticipated the recent change of events.

Bishop scowled, letting a little bit of his emotions show. He had left Raphael all alone, and sometime when he was alone the turtle had discovered a loophole through the intricate system he had devised. Now the other two turtles were missing, and he had to retrieve them. Or he could potentially trick them into destroying Raphael _for_ him, thereby solving this current problem.

But first things first. Raphael had to be dealt with, and full control regained. Chances were high that the turtle didn't even realize what he was doing, or the damage he was causing to Bishop's operations. Internally, Bishop berated himself. He should have known better than to make the suit using Utrom technology.

As soon as he had Raphael back under his full control, it would only be a small matter to find the other three turtles. Once he had all four, he could finally begin his revenge. Ideas of what he would do briefly floated through his head like bits and pieces of data flowing across a computer. Different types of torture, different kinds of tests. He even had a vague idea to order his men to build more suits like Raphael's and use them on the other turtles. However, the suit would need more testing first, especially due to this current disaster. As it was, only the most physically strong could handle the power of the suit without succumbing to it. That was why he had chosen Raphael in the first place-because he was the strongest of the turtles. Besides, if _Raphael_ could be physically contained by the suit, then no one else could possibly have a chance against it.

Finally, after what was certainly too long a time, they reached the command center. Bishop made a small mental note to demote the driver.

"Scout the area and report back to me," Bishop commanded those with him, getting out of the vehicle, "I'm going to attend to the subject."

Calmly, Bishop walked into the building, noting the damage done to the walls from a recent battle. He used his ID card to enter, and then walked to the designated room.

"I hope you've learned your lesson, Raphael," he scowled as he opened the door.

There was no one on the other side.

Bishop stood still, shock evident on his face. Then it turned to anger.

"This isn't supposed to happen," he growled, "This is _impossible_."

He turning around and headed back towards the door he had entered.

"The area is secure, sir." Someone informed him, but he ignored it.

"Will _someone_ tell me _why_ the prisoner _is not _in the room?" he demanded.

Those closest to him looked at one another with concern.

"If I may," one of them suggested warily, "The only possible way he could have avoided the programming is if he did not completely download the packet we sent him."

"So, either he obtained administrator privileges or he found some other loophole," another lackey suggested, pulling out a laptop, "I'm going to immediately investigate the packet we sent him for loopholes."

"He's not _that _technologically savvy, is he?" asked someone else, pulling out his own laptop, "The error might lie within the Utrom technology and its interpretation of the packet we sent."

"I don't know _how _he managed to avoid the system, and I don't care," Bishop said, "What I _do _want is full control of the suit before _another _project goes down the drain. So _find _the turtle, or _you're all fired!_"

* * *

Raphael awoke with a start, jumping up to a defensive stance. Unfortunately, that stance was on unsteady ground, and he promptly fell back. He bounced off the ground somehow and landed on the hardwood floor. It took him a few seconds to realize that he had just fallen off the bed, and that _Donatello_ had apparently seen the whole thing.

Donnie smirked, trying hard not to laugh. "Nice one, Raph." he said.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Raphael said, embarrassed, "_You_ try waking up in this thing without thinkin' ya need to fight."

Raph quickly scanned the room, both with his eyes and the suit.

"They're not back yet," he said, "How long was I asleep?"

"Long enough," Donnie said, rearranging some of the paper's on the desk in front of him.

"So, should we go look for them?" Raph asked.

"Possibly," Donnie said, "But maybe not. _We _need to stay here and keep you hidden, and _they_ know enough not to trigger one of Bishop's traps. Besides, as soon as Leo loses enough sleep searching for me, they'll come right back here to rest."

"_Then _can you take this thing offa me?" Raph asked.

"Don't you want to wait until _after _we've chased Bishop out of the city first?" Donnie smiled mischievously.

"Hm, ya got a point there," Raph said.

"And a plan too, as soon as our brothers get back," Donnie said, gesturing to the pieces of paper on the desk.

"Good ol' Donatello," Raph said, walking over to Donnie so that he could survey the plain his brother had laid out. "Hey, this kinda looks like something _I _might do."

"Yeah, well, I've learned a few things about thinking outside the box lately," Donnie said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment at the compliment.

"Heh heh, I can't wait to try this one out," Raphael said, cracking the knuckles of his suit, "This will be more fun than…" Suddenly he paused, and his hands fell to his sides.

"Raph?" Donnie asked, turning around, "Raphael, are you alright?"

"Fine," said Raphael curtly. His breath came in small, short spurts, as if he had just run a difficult exercise, "Nothing to worry about, Don."

"Are you sure?" Donnie asked, "That was weird, Raph."

"Yeah," said Raphael, sitting down on the bed, "Happens every once in a while, nothing big. But I've got some bad news."

"Alright…" Donatello said warily.

"It's Bishop," said Raph curtly, "He's back."


	13. Phase One

_Hi! So, I meant for this to be updated earlier but...forgive me? Thank you all so much for your reviews/follows/favs/just plain reading up to this point! All are always greatly appreciated!_

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"What do you mean Bishop's back?" Donnie asked, standing up from the desk, "How do you know that?"

"Listen, it's the suit," Raph said, crossing his arms, his curt breathing completely forgotten, "It's connected to other computers and stuff, I think. I just got a warning that Bishop's keycard was swiped back at his headquarters about ten minutes ago."

"His headquarters _here_? In New York?" Donnie asked.

"Yeah."

"Then," said Donnie, "We've got to act fast."

"Should we wait for the others?" Raph asked.

"I'm not sure," said Donnie, stroking his chin, "If Bishop is back in town and _you _know about it, that means he might not be far behind in knowing where _you _are. In that case, we should begin right away. On the other hand, the others could be back any minute now."

"True," said Raph, "So, what should we do? Can we do it without the others?"

Donnie sat down and thought carefully for a few minutes. He glanced several times at the plan on his desk.

"I think," he said finally, "I think we should get started."

Raph cracked his knuckles.

"Good," he said, smirking through the suit.

"Right," said Donnie, picking up his shellcell, "Time for phase one. Sorry, I'm going to have to hang up on you. Anything you want to say while we're still connected?"

"Let's get this over with," said Raph, his voice coming from the shellcell, "I want to kick some shell."

Nodding in agreement, Donnie flipped his shellcell shut, cutting off all communication with Raphael. He instantly flipped it open again.

"The number?" he asked.

Raphael reached forward and wrote out a number on the notepad next to Donnie. A number he had obtained only seconds earlier from the suit's computer.

"Thanks," said Donnie, "Wait. Before we go any further, I'm going to make it look like it's coming from his own number. Do you want to help?"

Raph nodded.

"Good," said Donnie, "This is what I want you to do. First, I need you to hack into the shellcell frequency using your computer…"

Five minutes later, Raphael held the shellcell as Donatello typed in the number he had obtained from Raphael.

"Here goes nothing," Donnie said, smirking as the number began ringing.

* * *

"Any progress?" Bishop asked.

"No, nothing." Said one of his men.

"We've investigated the packet we sent to the subject," explained another of his men, "But we can't find any loopholes within the coding."

"I don't want to know _how _he got past the packet, I only want to know where he is _now,_" said Bishop, "We _must _correct this mistake _immediately_, before more projects are affected."

Bishop's cell phone rang, and he answered it immediately.

"Finally," he said, "Listen carefully. There is a high possibility that the subject did not leave the city. I want every satellite, every corner store with wi-fi, every surveillance video and internet server tapped into, and I want this done quickly, in case the subject realizes he can use the Utrom technology to hide himself from them. Search specifically for the signal emanating from the suit's onboard computer. I want that turtle _found _before he drains our funds even further. All searches for the other turtles are to be dropped until further notice. Regaining control of the suit is our top-priority."

"Sir," one of the men in the room said.

"Hold on," Bishop said into the phone before taking it away from his ear, "What is it?" He asked the man in the room.

"There is absolutely no cause for a loophole within the Utrom tech. The only possible explanation is that the turtle was able to gain administrator privileges," the man said.

"Impossible," Bishop said, "The only turtle capable of that would be Donatello, and he is hiding up north. And come to think of it, aren't you supposed to be searching for _Raphael_, and _not _for the reason why he left? Get back to work."

"Yes sir," said the man, turning back to his work.

"Now," said Bishop, placing the phone back to his ear, "I also want to know how much control I still have over the suit, so I want your people working on that immediately. Next, and I'm only going to tell you this once, you are to begin searching for the suit using _Plan Four_. Got that? Plan Four. I want no traces of Four to be found after we have implemented it. _Everything _is to disappear. Understand?"

Silence.

"I _said_, do you understand?" Bishop said, getting impatient, "When I give orders, I want them acknowledged."

"Oh, I understood you perfectly," said a voice happily. But not the voice he was expecting.

"What?" Bishop said, signaling his men to trace the call. Confused, they obeyed, and began frantically tracing the signal. Although why they would be tracing the signal of _this _call, was a mystery to them.

"Hello Bishop, good to hear you again," said Donatello.

"How did you get this number?" Bishop asked slowly, intent on making this call last as long as possible so that it could be traced.

"That's not important right now," said Donatello, "I have a message for you."

"Oh? And what's that?" Bishop asked.

Donatello calmly waited several seconds before answering.

"Catch me if you can," Donatello said slowly, before hanging up the phone.

Bishop swore as he placed his cell phone down on a near-by table.

"Well? Did you get it?" he asked.

"Yes sir, and no sir," said one of the men in front of him.

"What do you mean by that?" Bishop asked.

"Well," said another of the men there, "The turtle waited long enough for us to get a clear signal."

"However, he arranged for the signal to look like it's coming from your own cell phone," the first man said.

"Of course he would," Bishop said, picking up his cell phone.

He looked into his past calls, and growled. The call that had just come in to him…was from his own number.

"Donatello," he threatened silently... "All right, everyone. Change of plans. Plan Four has been compromised. It seems that the turtle Donatello is now a threat that must be figured in our plans."

* * *

Donatello hung up his shellcell and smirked. It rang again almost immediately, and he quickly answered it. Only then did he begin laughing, with Raphael's laughter joining in with him from the other end of the shellcell.

"I didn't 'xpect him to talk so much," Raph laughed.

"Yes, that was unexpected," said Donnie, smiling, "But I think it helped us to rattle him a little more than we thought we would."

"Yeah," said Raph, "And he helped me learn how to block the Utrom signal."

"And he won't be implementing Plan Four, whatever that is," Donatello said, "Also, I think we've figured out where you got the money you've been using. You've apparently been draining his funds."

"Yeah, I should thank Bishop later," said Raphael, looking around the hotel room, "This is a nice joint. Kinda glad I didn't know what I was doing, though. Masta Splinta would have been mad at me if I was using someone else's money on purpose."

"Well," said Donnie, "Are you ready for phase two?"

"You know it!" said Raphael.

With a nod, Donatello grabbed his bo staff and headed for the window. Raphael held it open with one hand, and within seconds the two of them were out the window. The plans Donatello had drawn on the hotel desk now lay shredded to pieces in the trash can, and the only item left on the desk was Bishop's private cell phone number.

As Raphael closed the window behind them, the suit hitched and he froze. After a few seconds the episode passed, and he quickly rejoined his brother. Thankfully, Donatello hadn't noticed.

* * *

Master Splinter stood up, breaking the circle of those sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"The time has come for action. You must go," he announced.

"_Finally_," Mikey said, gaining a small slap from Leonardo for his impatience in front of their Sensei, "Ow! Leo, that hurt."

"But where should we go, Master?" Leo asked.

"Where do you _think_ you should go?" Master Splinter asked, raising an eyebrow.

April wisely remained silent as the two turtles thought.

"We're going to Bishop's headquarters, to find Donatello." Leo resolved.

"So, what about the fact that Bishop is still after us?" Mikey asked.

"We're Ninjas. I think we can handle it," Leo said, standing up.

"Well," said Mikey, standing up to join his brother, "When are we leaving?"

"Right now." Said Leo, "With your permission, Sensei."

"Fight well, my sons," said Master Splinter, "Go and rescue your brothers."

"Good-bye, guys," said April, "Good luck!"

With a bow to their Sensei and to April, Mikey and Leo quickly and quietly left April's apartment.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Donatello asked from his perch on the roof of Bishop's headquarters, "Bishop should join us any minute now. You set off the alarm, right?"

"Yeah, he should be here any minute, with his backup and everything. Um, Donnie, we have a problem," Raph whispered, his voice barely coming through the shellcell.

"What is it?" Donnie asked, holding the shellcell to his ear.

"Well, it-Don, move! To the right!" Raph commanded, interrupting himself.

Quickly Donnie moved in the dark, and something metal passed him to land where he had been previously.

"Found you Donatello," said Bishop, a smirk sounding in his voice. He was not in the least concerned that he had missed. "Did you really think it would be that easy to sneak up on my headquarters?"

_Right, everything is according to plan, _Donnie thought to himself. He positioned himself into a defensive stance, his bo staff ready.

"Donnie," Raph whispered, "We have a problem."

"One turtle down, three more to go," Bishop whispered, "I suppose you don't know it, but you've walked right into a trap, Donatello."

"I'm gonna turn on the lights," Raphael whispered through the shellcell.

"Wait, what?" Donnie whispered, "No! Don't!"

The roof lights turned on, and Donatello found himself blinking at Bishop, who had holding an Utrom weapon. He could also see several of Bishop's men standing behind him, waiting to see if they were needed.

"Who turned on the lights?" Bishop growled.

"Donnie?" called a voice. But it was not Bishop's voice. It was Mikey's.

Leonardo and Mikey were standing on next roof over. They were just far enough away that they hadn't heard Bishop and Donnie whisper to one another, and had not yet noticed that there were multiple people on the other roof. Yet, they were apparently close enough that Raphael could detect them with his equipment.

_Leonardo _and_ Mikey _were here.

"Shell," Donnie whispered. This was a problem. They didn't know the plan, and Donnie certainly couldn't tell them now.

The next thing Donnie knew, Leonardo and Michelangelo had jumped across the buildings and were standing next to him across from Bishop, their weapons drawn.

"You?" Bishop asked, "What are you two doing here?" His eyes furrowed; he had _thought _that Donatello was working alone.

"Stay back," Leo said to his brothers, standing slightly in front of them to protect them from Bishop and company, his swords drawn, "Bishop has the Guard with him."

Donatello followed Leo's line of sight, and turned to see Raphael standing motionless on the other end of the roof. Of course; Leo and Mikey still didn't know that this was their brother.

"Well," said Bishop, smiling as he noticed Raphael in the Utrom suit, and carefully noting Leo's reaction, "This is getting interesting."

**To Be Continued...**


End file.
